The Sound Of Lies
by GoldenFyre
Summary: Sasuke's new mission: to get Naruto to fall in love with him and bring him to Sound. But when he returns, nothing is the same. SasuNaru, Smart!Naru, happyending fic eventually
1. The Sound Of Missions

I do not won Naruto in any way shape or form.

- - -The SoundOf Lies 1- - -

"Sasuke-kun. Orochimaru-sama needs to see you." Kabuto said. Sasuke gave a nod and headed towards the room where his unfortunately sadistic boss gave his usual sadistic orders, such as the one he was giving Sasuke at this very moment. Sasuke was taking it rather well.

"You want me to do WHAT!" Ok, maybe it depended on your definition of the word well. Orochimaru smirked at Sasuke over his clasped hands.

"I said, I want you to bring the Kyuubi, and therefore Uzumaki Naruto to Sound, and since I don't want to go through the trouble to break his spirit, so I'll leave that up to you. So I want you to get him to come with you by making him fall in love with you."

Uchiha Sasuke, with all his heavily armed ninja ness, fainted. Orochimaru's smirk widened.

"This is going to be fun"

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Sasuke couldn't believe he was actually doing this. He was actually returning to Konoha to get his ex-team-mate to fall in love with him and bring him back to Sound. He had damn well better be able to kill Itachi soon, if this was the price he had to pay.

His carefully honed senses picked up a faint presence closing in on him. He whirled around, only to come face to face with a Fox mask of an Anbu. He blinked, his hand already reaching for his kunai. How had the man gotten here so fast, he had only just sensed him. But, he could still feel the faint chakra, although it was slightly obscured by the almost blinding chakra in front of him.

But that wasn't possible. The only way for him not to have sensed the man was either the man had the most incredible chakra control of anyone he had ever met, or this fox had teleported from a distance farther that Sasuke's senses could reach.

"Uchiha Sasuke." It wasn't a question. The statement was hard as it immerged from the mask before him. The voice sent small sparks of recognition through him, but he didn't know any Anbu's, and he knew no one capable of becoming an Anbu in the mere three years of his absence.

"Whats your business here, Uchiha?"

"Who's asking?" he demanded, fully aware that maybe demanding anything from an Anbu after being a missing nin for three years was not a wise idea, and fully not caring. The mask snorted.

"Some thing's never change. Should have known you'd be one of them." came that cold voice again. "Well, if you have no business here, I'm sure our Hokage will be delighted to see you again."

Sasuke got the distinct impression that arguing would do him no good, not if he ever wanted to get back into that village, so he followed the masked Anbu with only minimal grumbling. As they approached the gate, the guards clearly hesitated upon seeing the once beloved Uchiha heir.

"It's alright. He's with me." came that infuriatingly familiar voice. The men who manned the gate relaxed visibly and pulled the wide doors open, revealing the village that Sasuke had hoped to never see again. But even as he thought this, the memories of those times he had spent in Sound wishing to return here flooded his mind.

He shook his head. He did not wish to return, he was not happy to be back and he did not hope that everyone didn't hate him. Really, he would be okay with it. So long as that Dobe didn't. Not that he cared, really, it was all for the mission.

As they passed through the village, people bowed to this stranger in front of him.

"Kitsune-sama." they would say, as if this guy was some big shot in the village. As far as Sasuke had known there had been no Kitsune in the Anbu, at least not one important enough to get this kind of recognition out of the villagers.

"Hey! There you are!' a loud voice yelled. Sasuke turned, wondering if this was his team-mate, after all, he had never known anyone else to have that sort of lung power. But when the person who had yelled came into sight, he was greeted, not with blonde hair and blue eyes, but red hair and gold eyes, who crashed to a halt in front of the Anbu.

"What took you so long! We've be-" he stopped, his eyes lighting on Sasuke. "Oh." Then suddenly, he looked very nervous. The Anbu clearly saw this as well, and seemed to understand immediately.

"Oh no, _he's _not here, is he? Oh who am I kidding, you two are never not within 5 minutes of each other. I'd go head him off." he said. The red head nodded, than dashed off, with the speed Sasuke usually associated with saving someone's life. Little did he know.

Despite that small interruption, they continued along the familiar, Sasuke wondering who the hell this stranger was, why did he almost recognise him? How could he, he had known no one except those in the Rookie nine, and this man couldn't have been one of those losers, none of them could have become an Anbu so quickly, if at all.

The guards outside the Hokage tower bowed as the two of them entered, shooting Sasuke dirty looks. When they reached the door to the Hokages, office, the man paused, before throwing open the door with a bang. Sasuke heard a feminine squeal, which sounded like Sakura. He hung at the edge of the door, where he could still see what was going on. Sakura, he had been right, glomped this stranger.

"Oh my god! Naruto! You're back! And why are you still wearing the mask, take it off!" she squealed.

Sasuke gasped. This couldn't be Naruto! The man slowly removed the mask, revealing bright blonde hair. Then he turned around to face Sasuke, and as his blue eyes met Sasukes, Sasuke felt his whole reality crash down around his ears.

- - - To Be Continued? - - -

If you want more, you have to review, k? At least 10.


	2. The Sound Of Meetings

. . . Um, when I said, 10 reviews, I was expecting, I dunno, 2? So I don't have any plans that can be put into motion before chapter 10 or so. So, um, updates will be a bit slow. Ideas welcome.

And no, Orochimaru is not in any way attempting to play match maker. He wants the Kyuubi, therefore, Naruto. He knows that the only way Naruto would come to Sound is if Sasuke gets him. He also is a sadistic bastard and would find it endlessly amusing to have Naruto have his heart broken.

I don't own Naruto, by the way

- - - Recap - - -

Sasuke gets a mission to make Naruto fall in love with him and bring him to Sound. Naruto is an Anbu

- - - End Recap - - -

"Naruto?" he gasped, trying desperately to regain his composure and failing miserably. The cool blue eyes met his again, completely devoid of the life and brightness that had been their trade mark. They were totally emotionless. Sasuke looked away first.

Naruto turned away, bowing to the Hokage, his voice, when he spoke, as cold and hard as his eyes had been.

"Hokage-sama. I have brought Uchiha-sama." Tsunade turned to Naruto, her eyebrow raised.

"Why? I just-"

"Sasuke, Hokage." he e. She stopped abruptly and her eyes flickered to the dark haired boy, no, man now, who had remained unseen. Sakura gasped and she to looked towards the shadows, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Sasuke. . .?" her voice emerged as a whisper. He stepped out from the door way, into the bright light. Tsunade regarded him coolly before turning back to Naruto and giving him an inquiring look. Naruto nodded, almost unseen, before saying.

"I found him wandering the border, Hokage-sama." she nodded at him, before winking at him ever so slightly. Sasuke got the distinct impression that he was missing something very important and that both of them wanted him to be missing it. He wondered if it had anything to do with the hidden message that had overlaid every words that Naruto had spoken with the red haired man.

Naruto seemed to be engaged in an unspoken argument with the Hokage and soon exited the room, bowing to Tsunade again and taking Sakura with him. And Sasuke was starting to wish that he hadn't, as he was now left with the rather frightening Hokage, who was currently fixing him with a rather terrifying glare that gave him a very strong inkling that she was displeased with him. So he said the first thing that came to mind.

"What happened to _him_?" Shit. Not a good way to start off. Her glare deepened and her eyes gained an overshadow of grief. She sighed.

"Why are you here, Uchiha." she demanded.

"I wish to be accepted back to Konoha." Maybe that would work, not over doing it, just the simple truth.

"Why?" Or maybe not. What could he say? Somehow 'To seduce and convert your favourite person' didn't seem like the sorta thing that would exactly go over very well. But maybe if he dragged Naruto into it, it may work.

"I missed him." A blonde eyebrow arched delicately.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I missed everyone. I want to be with them again." Play to her soft, feminine side. Because Hokage, or not, she was still a kunoichi. And behind every kunoichi was a girl who was still waiting for the happy ending. She looked him over and appeared to give it some consideration.

"You have a month." she said it in such a way that he was led to believe that this had been her decision since the beginning. "You will be guarded for the next month, to asses if you have truly become more than the power obsessed bastard who would throw away everything just to kill. If you haven't changed, than you will leave here and will never be permitted to enter this village again. At least not alive."

"Yes Hokage." his voice held only the smallest hint of relief "Thank you."

"Do not make the mistake of thinking I'm doing any of this for you. I would have killed you on sight. Report to Kakashi-sensei."

"Hai."

"And Uchiha."

"Hai?"

"I do not trust for a second that being under the care of _him_ has made you any kinder, but I hope for Naruto's sake that you prove me wrong."

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Kakashi was not as surprised as Sasuke would have expected to see his ex-student at his door. But then, few things had ever surprised Kakashi. The silver haired man had simply looked at him, before opening the door a bit wider. Sasuke had walked in.

"What happened?" he asked the second he had sat down. Kakashi gave him another all encompassing look.

"You mean Naruto?" he asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"No, I mean your couch. Of course I meant Naruto. What happened to him while I was gone. How did he become an Anbu? Such a powerful one? What happened?"

Kakashi looked at him for a long while, debating whether Sasuke deserved to hear it. Finally, his mouth opened, although you could hardly tell. "You did. Or rather, you didn't."

'Well' Sasuke thought sarcastically. 'Glad he cleared that up.' He tried to get Kakashi to elaborate, with no success. There was a moment of silence. Sasuke glanced around the room, taking in the furniture and other such things around the room. His eyes alighted with interest on a very surprising picture.

It was a picture of Kakashi and Iruka, both wearing festival Yukata's, Kakashi with his arm around Iruka, holding up a peace sign, Iruka wearing a strong blush. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, who saw what he was looking at and merely curved his eye in a smile.

"Naruto's taken up a temporary interest in photography." he grinned. Sasuke snorted. There was more silence, than the door to the house flew open and a whirlwind of pink burst into the room.

"Oh! Sasuke-kun! Hokage-sama just told me what happened! I'm so glad!" she flung her arms around him in a glomp. She almost immediately released him, looked at him for a moment, then hit him full across the face. Sasuke, who had not expected this at all, blinked. And stared. Kakashi hid a grin.

"You bastard! How dare you come back! And why the hell did it take you so long!" she hugged him again, then pulled away and slapped him again. Kakashi was grinning outright. Sasuke was just staring at her as though she was crazy. Kakashi took pity on his old student.

"Sakura, why don't you take Sasuke out for ramen or something and fill him in on whats been happening." he voice was filled with laughter. Sakura agreed this was a good idea and dragged Sasuke from the room. As this was a welcome change from being hit and hugged at the same time, Sasuke didn't protest. Kakashi shook his head. Some things never changed. Good to know. To many things had changed.

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"Sakura, where are you taking me?" he asked, watching the faces blur past him. She slowed down for a moment to talk to him.

"We're going for ramen. We need to talk."

Sasuke felt a jolt of fear go through him. Not for any reason other than the natural reaction to the words 'need to talk'. It was common knowledge that nothing good ever followed those three words. It was well known that those words, when strung together, were the worst in any language. Except maybe in Chinese, where he had heard that there was an actual word that encompassed all three of the words into one to make the most lethal _word_ ever spoken. He said the only thing that could be said.

"Oh?" he would have said more, had it not been for the stranger who had walked up to him with a broad grin and clapped him on the back.

"Akki-san!" the man said "You got a hair cut!"

Sasuke gave the man a look. Sakura gave the man a look.

"Excuse me Chijin-san, we, um, have to be going. Bye!" and she had proceeded to drag him away and only answered his questions with the explanation that clearly the man was crazy. As Sasuke was not inclined to like many of the Konoha populates, he had not argued with this.

Sakura had refused to say any thing else until they got to the ramen stand, which Sasuke still remembered, all these years later. That's how often he had been forced to bring Naruto there. Then why wasn't Sakura as tired of it as he had been? Surely Naruto had made her his new ramen buddy. He asked as much and Sakura's happy grin froze.

"Sasuke. Naruto doesn't like ramen." she had said.

"Since when!" he exclaimed. She sighed.

"Sasuke. I think you need to know the truth-"

"Yes, I do. Tell me! Like hell Naruto doesn't like ramen? Who was the one forced to treat him to it seven days a week?"

"Sasuke, Naruto only got ramen because it was the only thing he could afford. And when he couldn't afford that anymore, he had to get others to buy it for him, so he chose the think least likely to bother them. Ramen, since it was cheap. He hasn't eaten ramen for three years Sasuke."

Sasuke was getting that sinking feeling again. He was starting to feel as if his world was about to crash down again. Sakura was using that sort of tone. That I-don't-really-want-to-tell-you-this-but-someone-has-to-and-it-might-as-well-be-me tone.

"Sakura. What happened while I was gone? What happened to Naruto?" he asked. He told himself he didn't care. He would have to know. For his mission. He didn't care at all.

Sakura's face was sad. "If you don't know him, all that's happened is that he got stronger. Literally overnight. But for those of us who know him, he's hurting. The only time he ever seems as happy as he used to be is when he's around Kyuu and Akki."

"Kyuu? Akki?" his voice was questioning.

"Oh right. I'll start at the beginning. After you left, Naruto started changing. Then one day, he was sparring with Gaara. He beat him. Not easily, but it definitely wasn't hard. The strange thing was, Gaara didn't seem surprised. He seemed almost pleased. Naruto said that he was tired of hiding, tired of pretending. He said the it hadn't kept you here and it was doing him any good.

"The next day, he applied for Anbu. He was only a gennin, and they said there was no way. But Gaara said they had to give him and chance and the Kazekage's orders hold some weight. So they told Naruto that if he wanted to be an Anbu, he had to beat the current Anbu captain. Which every one knew was unfair, Haburi-san had been unbeatable for years. Naruto beat him in less than a minute.

"So they had no choice. Naruto was made Anbu and only a few months later he was made captain. Then, not long after that, these two people showed up. The strange thing is, no one remembers them actually coming to the village, they just appeared one day and they both seemed to know Naruto really well. The next thing any of us know, they're Anbu. The whole village loves them." She paused, as if trying to decide what else to say.

Sasuke sat there, stunned. He didn't even notice as the steaming ramen was placed in front of him. So Naruto really was the Kitsune Anbu. The new Anbu captain. He had heard the other Sound nins mention his name, and it was never good. Not for them anyway. They spat out curses, swearing. All the ones who had faced him lost, and he was the one that all the confident ones bragged that _they_ were going to be the ones to beat him.

Sakura watched him, before shrugging and returning to her ramen. He would get over it. They all had. Hopefully he could get over the _next_ piece of news.

"Um, Sasuke, there's something else you should know." she said hesitantly "Um, about the person who will be, ur, watching you. The guard duty always goes to the highest ranking person after the Hokage. . . The Anbu captain."

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So he had been dragged, again through Konoha by an insane whirlwind. He had ended up in front of a large house, and Sakura had pounded on the door. Silence. She had pounded again harder. Then she had rung the door bell. Rapidly.

"Would you hold on! We're coming!" and the door had been thrown open by the same red haired he had seen on the street. His hair was slightly mussed and he was a bit flushed. Standing behind him was a man with long black hair and bright silver eyes. He looked slightly familiar, but not enough to place. He also looked slightly rumpled. Sakura gave them a once over and giggled.

"Kyuu, what would Naruto say if he knew what you were doing." she laughed. Kyuu winked at her.

"Join us, of course."

"I heard that you pervert!" Came a voice, which was followed by slight thump and Naruto landed at the bottom of the stairs. "Who's at the door."

"Sakura and" he looked around her. "Um. Sasuke." he said, his voice colder. The black haired man froze, as did Naruto. Neither of them had seen him. The black haired man started to edge back, trying not to be seen. Kyuu shook his head and grabbed the man before he could edge out of view.

"Naruto. Want to introduce us?" it wasn't a question. Naruto straightened, his icy eyes not looking at him.

"Kyuu, Akki, this is Uchiha Sasuke." he said, completely monotone. Sakura winced visibly. So, surprisingly, did Akki. Sakura, clearly, was wincing at the tone, but Akki seemed to be wincing at the name.

"Um, Naruto, Hokage-sama says that Sasuke will have to stay with you." Sakura broke the semi silence. This time Naruto was the one who flinched, and Akki and Kyuu gave him a pitying look. Sasuke could swear that Akki paled a bit.

Kyuu flung his arms over both Akki and Sasuke's shoulders. "Well, this is going to be fun! You guys'll be playing like brothers in no time!" Sasuke didn't notice Akki kick Kyuu hard in the shins.

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Sasuke was givin a guest bed room that was pretty far away from the others. When he asked why, Naruto had turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you _want_ a room next to those two?" he jerked his head at Kyuu, who was licking chocolate off of Akki's hands. Sasuke grimaced and shook his head. He had been there for a few hours already and Naruto had loosened up somewhat, though nothing compared to his old self.

The next morning, he was woken up by the energetic Kyuu bouncing onto his bed and demanding that he woke up and eat the nice breakfast that Naruto had made them since Naruto never made breakfast for _them_ and if Sasuke didn't eat it and like it dammit than they might never get to have pancakes for breakfast again!

Sasuke's response, after much grumblings and murder attempts, was to ask why didn't he just or Akki make breakfast. Kyuu had stared at him, before laughing and saying that if he wanted to eat what Akki cooked than it was his funeral. Sasuke didn't ask again.

Then Sasuke had tried to train when he was, again, interrupted. "Hey! Sasuke-kun! Want to train with us?" he had asked. Sasuke had almost scoffed, he had trained with Orochimaru, no way could these losers keep up with _him_! But decided that such a thing might not help him with this damn mission. So had said that sure, he would train with them.

Kyuu had immediately partnered him up with Naruto. Sasuke wondered why until he saw the way that Akki and Kyuu were 'training'. It was more like an all out grope fest. So, it was time to see how he matched up to the Great Kitsune. To see if he really lived up to the name 'Konoha's Fire.' he doubted it.

To his shock, Naruto, after 5 minutes of hard sparring, had one, with a surprising move where he had actually jumped, no, flipped, backwards and knocked Sasuke over. He stared down at him, the expression in his eyes clear.

'Three years? For this?'

Sasuke could tell himself that he had lost on purpose. For the mission. But that would be a lie. In the last three years, he had gotten good at that.

- - - To Be Continued - - -

So, how was it? I think it sucks, but it will get better. The beginning is slow. And hopefully I'll be able to update sooner now that I've finished Neko No Jutsu. Oh, and who here can figure out Akki's secret?


	3. The Sound Of Discovery

- - Recap - - -   
Sasuke gets settled in his new house of sorts.  
- - - End Recap - - -

- - - Sound Of Lies Chapter 3 - - -

Sasuke had slowly started to adjust to his new surroundings, although he was starting to think that moving to quickly or unexpectedly caused surprising results. There had been a time he had opted to get out of bed early and had slouched down to the kitchen, hoping that Naruto would be making bacon again.

Naruto was, but the blonde had also been talking to Kyuu, who had a swishy orange tail which was waving slowly back and forth, but not in a happy way. He also had auburn ears which were drooping slightly, like wilting flowers. He didn't seem to like what he and Naruto were talking about.

Sasuke turned around and headed back to bed. The first sign of being tired was seeing someone with a tail. Ok, maybe it wasn't, but the fact that he was seeing tails on random people remained. Sasuke slept in late after that.

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Sasuke was also starting to notice how much Konoha had really changed. For example, Konoha and Sand seemed to be many times closer than they had been. When Sakura had told him how Naruto had only gotten into the Anbu test at the request of the Kazekage, Sasuke had been sceptical, after all, what did the Kazekage have to do with Konoha?

But it turned out that Sakura had spoken the truth. His words carried nearly as much weight as the Hokage herself. Sasuke was also surprised to learn that since his departure from the village, he had lost the position he had held as the village prodigy. In fact, he had been replaced by none other than Naruto. This was also heightened by the fact that Naruto had introduced two very powerful ninjas into the village.

Sasuke wasn't sure how exactly to feel about this. On one hand, he had been replaced by Naruto! But on the other, he had never liked all the attention and to think that he would come back and still be on that pedestal was almost laughable. But he didn't feel like laughing. Not that that was anything new.

Another shocking development in Konoha was the large amount of people who had paired off. Some of these were expected, like the fact that Chouji was now dating the daughter of the man who owned the barbeque stand. But others, like Kakashi and Iruka, were completely out of the blue. However, when he had said something of that effect to Naruto, he had been laughed at.

Not in a mean way, but in an actually amused way. Naruto had explained, through his laughter, that Sasuke truly was the most oblivious person on the planet. When Sasuke had asked why, Naruto had elaborated to say that Kakashi and Iruka would be celebrating their fourth anniversary in two months.

Over time, Sasuke got accustomed to the strange workings of Konoha, such as how every one looked up to Naruto as if he were already the Hokage, and how every once and a while, he'd be mistaken for Akki. Also, none of the villagers seemed to think it strange at all when Akki and Kyuu started making out in the street. Sasuke knew that if that were ever to happen in Sound, the two would probably be killed on the spot.

He also felt that there was some great secret looming over both Akki and Kyuu, and that everyone, or at least the ninjas, knew exactly what it was. After a long struggle, mostly with the Hokage, Sasuke had gained the rank of chunnin, which he felt more than a bit insulted at, considering that one of his old team mates had a medic nin rank second only to the Hokage and that the other had a ninja position of power second only to the Hokage. When he mentioned this to said Hokage she had given him a Look and kicked him out of her office.

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Orochimaru-sama,

You have asked for regular updates on my progress. I have come to many startling revelations in my short time of only two weeks. First and foremost, the Kitsune holder Naruto is the well respected Anbu captain of this village and while I believe that his skill has not increased, it still may prove difficult in getting him to leave this position of power.  
I have gained the trust of many of these villagers, who, in their folly, do not believe me a threat at all and have only given me the rank of a lowly chuunin. Despite these indignities, I await your next orders.

Most respectfully,  
Uchiha Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke

This is a setback, yes, but not one we cannot use to our best advantage. Your new orders are this, still attempt to get close to the Kyuubi child, but do so with the intention of gaining information and not of bringing him here as soon as possible. This will still be your goal, but a less pressing one and one which you can take more time with.

Do not fail.  
Orochimaru.

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With this new objective in mind, Sasuke began asking seemingly innocent questions,

"How exactly did you two meet?" he asked. Kyuu and Akki exchanged a slightly worried look.

"Um, each other or Naruto?" Kyuu said, looking as if he were stalling. Sasuke raised a mental eyebrow at this.

"Both."

"Well, the first time Naruto saw me was right after he did a really powerful jutsu. He met Akki by running into him." Kyuu's innocent face told clearly that there was more to each story than that, but Sasuke got the feeling that this, too, was part of the Great Secret that lingered over those two.

"And each other?" Sasuke asked. Kyuu and Akki exchanged a slightly uneasy look.

"Well, um." Akki started.

"You see, young Sasuke,"- Sasuke bristled "It's a very funny story. I was just sitting there and along came Akki and then, next thing I knew, I was lying in his lap."

" . . . I'm leaving." Sasuke said.

"Don't you want to hear the rest?"

"No." Sasuke left. Akki grinned.

"You didn't mention the net."

"Net?"

"Yes, the net that you were in before I let you go and you fell on me!"

"Yeah, well, I got to the principle of the thing."

"Suuure you did."

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Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How those two had managed to become so respected was beyond him. Great. Now he knew nothing except the fact that those two had to be among the biggest perverts alive. What was with Konoha and its apparent magnet for perverts? Or perhaps it was Naruto who was the magnet and Konoha was just part of the deal.

And Sasuke was going to have to put up with it all because of this goddamn mission, which he was starting to realize he had better get a start on. That also meant he had to ask Naruto out. Ugh. Of course, he couldn't do it like one would do with girls. Girls liked him. Girls wanted to date him. Naruto didn't.

Normally, this would not be a subject of complaint, but given the circumstances, it wasn't all that strange. So how the hell was he supposed to subtly ask his ex-team mate out on a date without the blonde knowing that it was a date? Wonderful.

As soon as he killed Itachi, he was going to kill Orohimaru-sama. And Kabuto, for helping him. And Naruto. Because he could. And maybe Tsunade, for making him live with Naruto and two people who seemed to be the living example of perversion. Then he'd kill the two examples. Then he could rest, and never have to wonder about how to ask the dobe out again.

But until that day came, he did have to ask him out. Now. . . How to do that? Handing him some flowers were out of the question, not only because the only person to get flowers from (Ino) would spread it around the village like wildfire, but also because the idea was too damn girly.

He could go up to Naruto and say "Hey, dobe, you want to go out with me?" but somehow, that idea didn't appeal to him in the slightest. The idea of asking for help didn't even occur to him, because he was an Uchiha, and Uchihas didn't need help. So there. That was probably why it had come out the way it did.

"Hey, dobe, want to grab some ramen." Instant silence. Everyone turned to look at him, as in Tsunade, Kakashi, Iruka, Kyuu, Akki, Sakura and for some reason Lee. Everyone. When Naruto turned to look at him, his eyes were bordering on icy coldness.

"Sure." he replied tensely. "Why not?" Sasuke pretended not to see Akki slap his head with his hand. What did he know any way? He wasn't an Uchiha. He didn't know how hard it was for an Uchiha to ask someone out.

So that was how Sasuke found himself paying for one, only one! bowl of ramen. Then they had actually started to talk. So in actuality, it was all Naruto's fault that they went on that damn boat. Sasuke still hadn't worked out exactly how it was the blonde's fault, but the blonde was definitely to blame. And it was also entirely Naruto's fault that he had fallen off the boat and had had to be hauled back up again, sopping wet, onto the boat. And Naruto had been chivalrous and given him his jacket. Damn him.

But on the bright side, it meant that the date had gone well.

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Sasuek resisted the urge to hit his head on the nearest possible surface. When that failed to work, he wondered if it were possible for one to gauge one's eyes out without actually doing any lasting damage. When he asked this of the people sitting nearby, they had only replied that if they ever found a way to do so, Sasuke would be the first to know.

Who the hell had gotten the idea that the best way to train ninjas to withstand mental torture was to have Gai and Lee to perform a musical version of whatever play they were slaughtering? Sasuke was definitely adding them to his list of people to kill. This probably explained why even Sasuke had been able to get no information out of Konoha ninjas.

Sasuke couldn't believe that he was having to go through this sort of training again. It wasn't fair. He had come to this village to bring a powerful ally to Sound, not to see Gai try to carry a tune.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" The messenger at the door had asked. "You're wanted by-" Sasuke didn't stay to hear the sentence finished. "The Hokage" the man finished to the trail of dust. Sasuke, whether by luck or skill, had actually managed to hear this, and arrived at the door to the Hokage tower only slightly dishevelled.

"Hokage-sama is expecting you." the guard at the door said, holding it open for the younger Uchiha to pass through.

He bowed respectfully while standing in the doorway. Hell, he'd have bowed to a tree if it had gotten him out of that class. Tsunade gestured to the chair across from her.

"Sit."

Sasuke sat. What could she possibly want to talk to him about? Would he get off his one month sentence early? Although he doubted it…Tsunade didn't seem like the sort to do that.

"I hear that you asked Naruto out. Why?"

"I wanted to know who he is now."

"Then you should have started three years ago. He hasn't changed. He just stopped pretending." her voice was as cold as Naruto's had been. Sasuke resisted the urge to gulp.

"Well, than I want to know who he really is. He is my team mate." He met her eyes with a cool determination, knowing that nothing else would convince her. And convince her he would. Failure was not an option.

Her gaze dropped. "He likes movies. And fire works. I'd go to one of those for your next date."

"It wasn't a date!" he snapped. That was the third time that it had been referred to as such.

She shrugged. "Whatever. You may go."

Sasuke knew when he was being dismissed. He moved his chair back and headed towards the door. When he had reached it and his hand was on the handle, a voice stopped him.

"You hurt him, and I'll kill you."

He turned around, but she was already concentrating on her papers. He could pretend he had imagined it, but he knew he hadn't.

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Sasuke wondered why, whenever he trained with Naruto, Akki and Kyuu, he was only paired with Naruto. Despite the fact that Kyuu and Akki obviously enjoyed um, 'training' together, it was still strange that neither of them ever trained with anyone else. On the rare occasions that you could find one without the other, they would sit out and not train at all.

Another strange thing was that neither of them used anything but strict hand to hand combat. No jutsus, no weapons. They didn't even use chakra to increase their speed. Sasuke figured that this was yet another part of the Great Secret that loomed over them both.

He never thought it that important to question their peculiar habits. After all, he didn't want anyone prying around into his secrets, such as the weekly coded messages that were carefully burnt after being read, or the return messages sent with the utmost secrecy.

But it wasn't until the middle of the third week after Sasuke's arrival that he figured out the reason Kyuu never used his chakra. The only reason he managed to figure it out was that Kyuu was, for once, sparring with Naruto. Neither of them appeared to realize that Sasuke was there.

Naruto had been in the middle of a complex jutsu when Sasuke had walked up. He had decided to hide; after all, if they couldn't see him, he could use his Sharingan and learn some new jutsus. Naruto finished his jutsu and, in his signature move, nine Narutos appeared. Kyuu grinned.

"Nice Naruto. Is that supposed to be a hint?"

"Your call. If you want to win, I'd break that 'no chakra' rule. No one's here to figure anything out." As he spoke, the many Narutos attacked. Kyuubi flipped out of the way, making hand signs too fast for even the Sharingan to follow.

At the moment that the hands stopped, a strong, powerful, familiar chakra filled the air. A chakra that Sasuke hadn't felt since the Valley of the End… But that wasn't right. It couldn't be possible. That chakra had been . . .

Memories flashed through his head. The day that he had left, the chuunin exam. Haku. Kyuu's tails, that one day, what he had said 'Naruto met me after he did a really powerful jutsu.' Even the name Kyuu. No wonder it had seemed almost familiar.

Kyuubi No Kitsune. The nine tailed fox. In his shock, he lost his grip on the tree he had been gripping with his chakra, crashing down through the branches with a sound that couldn't be ignored. Both (well, actually, eleven, counting the clones) spun in his direction.

"Shit."

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"It started a long time ago, even before I attacked Konoha. It started when I first learned how to change form. I thought that it was the most fun thing in the world. I was young, still only 100, and I thought that the world was my plaything. I was so mischievous then. I still am, but more cautious now. I know who to prank and who to let alone. I didn't then."

"I transformed into a girl that my older brother liked and told him I liked him. When my brother found out, well, let's just say, he doesn't have the sense of humor that I do. He attacked one of the human villages that I favored. He used my seeming, he thought it was funny to use the same transformation spell. When he realized that it wasn't a normal village, that it was a Ninja village, he did a replacement jutsu."

At Sasuke's surprised look, he grinned, "Yeah, we use jutsus too. Anyway, suddenly, I found myself at a battlefield, with some blonde guy performing a strange jutsu I'd never seen before. Then, I was in the body of a kid. I watched him grow up, as he was mocked and tormented because of me, because I couldn't resist pulling one prank.

"And he was just like I had been, trying so hard to get the attention that no one thought he deserved. But no one ever noticed. All they saw was me, all they saw was my brother. I finally figured out how to talk to him, when he was about six. I told him what happened, why everyone hated him.

"That's when he figured out that nothing he could ever do would change the way they treated him. So he figured that he would hide his true strength, hide his true self. That it was better to let everyone underestimate him, to let them think that he was no threat at all. Then, what reason would they have to bother him? And if they ever did, they would never know what was coming.

"I promised that I would protect him. He was stronger than I could have been. When he let me out of his body, I vowed that I'd never leave him. I owe a debt to him. I owe a debt to Konoha. The only thing that I'd ever consider leaving for is Akki, and he'd never ask that of me."

Sasuke mulled this over for a while. "So what happened to your brother?" he asked. Kyuubi laughed.

"I hear he married the girl I impersonated. She heard what happened and realized that it had to mean he liked her back. I hear she bosses him a lot."

Sasuke almost laughed. "And who's Akki, really?"

All laughter drained out of Kyuu in an instant. "What do you mean?" his voice was cold and tense.

"Well, theres some big secret with you two, I thought since I found out about you, that you could tell me about the rest."

"How do you know that he wasn't just keeping my secret?"

"I'm a ninja, remember, I know these things." It was funny, how easy acting natural was, how easy to let his shields down. To smile, and laugh like nothing was wrong, as though he wasn't going to be responsible for the death of these people, in a war he was going to help cause.

Kyuubi was still tense. "Well, it's Akki's secret to tell. And I won't say any more than that. And don't ask him about it, he'll lie."

- - - To Be Continued - - -

Sorry that the updates are slow, but I didn't want to put this in till later. Oh well, I guess this is going to be a faster moving story than I though. Suggestions welcome. And encouraged.


	4. The Sound Of Rage

- -Recap - - -   
Sasuke finds out, finally, that Kyuu is really Kyuubi no Kitsune, and went on a date with Naruto.

- - - End Recap - - -

- - - Start Chapter - - -

Sasuke couldn't begin to explain, or even understand it. In the last few months, the urge to complete the mission was sinking more and more to the back of his mind. And even more startling, this new need, this undeniable force that was driving him closer and closer to his old team mate, a sudden desire to know everything about him.

Uzumaki Naruto was a puzzle, an enigma, an unstoppable being who could kill you with one hand, or encourage you to go far past what you thought your limits were. He was a challenge. A challenge that Sasuke, for once in his life, seemed unable to overcome.

Naruto had, yet again, managed to slip through a trap that Sasuke had thought would be impossible for the blonde to avoid. Apparently, as far as Naruto was concerned, the word impossible could never be involved. So it was reasonable that he did not expect the fist that was currently flying towards his head, almost to fast to see.

He didn't have time to think. The three years of doing nothing but training had hammered one response to such an attack into his body over and over, till it was second nature. He felt his hands forming the seals before his brain could even register them moving. Naruto's sapphire eyes widened.

Snakes shot out of his sleeves, their jaws clenching on the air where Naruto had been just a second before. Sasuke's Sharingan revealed what had happened; his normal vision would have been unable to capture it. Naruto had somehow interpreted the signs and had managed to twist himself midair and gotten out of the way.

Naruto landed in a crouch, an unreadable expression in his eyes. The snakes moved again, Sasuke powering them with his chakra subconsciously, lending them supernatural speed. Naruto only barely managed to get out of the way in time, the snakes twisting as they followed him.

In the distance, Sasuke could hear something, but he didn't care. All that mattered was the power that was consuming him, this tidal wave of strength that carried him along with it, driving him to the ultimate defeat of his opponent. Nothing else mattered.

A horrified shriek broke his haze, only for a moment, but it was the moment Naruto needed. A harsh kick hit him squarely in the head and sent his unbraced body sprawling, his snakes disappearing slowly. Sakura, the one who had screamed, was at his side in an instant, her eyes wide and concerned. As soon as she saw that he was fine, she punched him, full across the face.

"What the hell were you thinking!" she screamed at him "Those were poisonous! You could have killed him!"

Sasuke looked around him in statement, although he knew the snakes were gone, and realized that she was right. His eyes immediately went to where Naruto was, and saw the blonde waving away an anxious Kyuubi and a concerned Akki.

Sakura pulled him up. "We need to talk." Sasuke didn't see the look she gave the worried Kyuubi as she practically dragged him out of the clearing. She finally slowed down outside a nice apartment near the outer edges of Konoha, close enough to be a short walk to everywhere, but far enough away to actually have a real yard.

She pulled him through the door and finally pushed him down on a nearby couch, fetching another chair and dropping down into it. Sasuke looked around. It looked too big for one person, even one as rich as Sakura was sure to be. As if realizing this, she spoke up.

"Lee-kun's on a month long mission as of yesterday."

Sasuke nodded. "What do you want to talk about?"

Sakura looked like she was going to explode. "What do I want to talk about? What the hell do think I want to talk about! Hm, let's start with the fact that you just tried to kill him, again!"

Sasuke gaped at her. "He told you?"

Sakura snorted, totally destroying any lady-like image she might have created. "Are you kidding? This is Naruto, he couldn't say anything bad about you if it killed him. Or, in this case, if you almost killed him. No, he told us that some Sound nins hurt him and that you were unconscious the entire time. He's the only reason that you're not the most hunted missing nin."

"Oh yeah? Well, what did he do? What could Naruto possibly do to have such influence?"

Sakura's face was turning a furious red. "You want to know what he did? He had a chance to train to become Hokage, and he told them that he didn't want to become Hokage anymore, that being Hokage meant protecting those who are closest to us and that he had failed. Jiraiya-san told him that he was being an idiot. Naruto said that he'd rather be an idiot than give up on you."

"Well, he managed that." Sasuke said scathingly, trying to suppress the guilt and the hope that he shouldn't be feeling. Sakura looked like she was planning homicide at any moment. And with the righteous indignation of her team-mate on her side, he had no doubt that she might be able to do it.

"So, if he didn't tell you about our fight, then how did you guys figure out what happened?" he said, changing the subject, anything but these feelings that he shouldn't be having. He was an avenger. He didn't care.

"We found out not that long ago, about three or four months before you came back. He was sparring with Kakashi, one of those serious ones where they used all their most powerful jutsus. Naruto was winning and Kakashi started to power up a chidori. Naruto just froze, staring at it. Then he started clutching his stomach, right where the injuries were. We just kinda figured it out from there."

Sasuke wondered if Kyuubi had anything to do with how they 'figured it out'.

"Hey, Sasuke." Sakura said, her voice as innocent as a child's. "You said that you left to kill someone, because you're an avenger. Did you do it? Is that why you came back?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "No." he forced out.

"Well, what are you going to do when you meet them? Just kill them? Just like that?"

Sasuke nodded shortly, hoping she would change the subject and wondering how they had gotten on the subject in the first place.

"So you'll just kill him. Like some cold blooded murderer?"

He nodded again.

"Well, if that's all. I'll be going now." he said, almost running towards the exit. Ninja or not, talking was not something he could handle.

"We'll talk about this later!" Sakura called after him.

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"Kyuu, I need to talk to you!" Naruto said, opening the door to the room.

"What's up?" Kyuubi asked, his face concerned. "Is it Sasuke?"

"No, what would make you think that?" Naruto exclaimed more than asked. Kyuubi gave him a serious look.

"Ok, yeah, it's about Sasuke." Naruto sat down on the bed, which groaned loudly. Literally. Naruto stood up. "Kyuubi. Is Akki under the bed?"

"…yes."

Naruto sighed loudly. "Akki, you can come out now."

The mussed black hair poked out from under the bed. "Um, hi?"

Naruto gave both of them a Look. "Look, you two, what you do is your business, but could you not do it in my house? Have the decency to sneak around, do it, I dunno, behind the bowling alley or something. And if you have to do it here, please, I am begging you, do your own sheets!"

Kyuu turned red while Akki tried to look as though he got that everyday, although, knowing his and Kyuu's habits, that was possible.

"So, what were you saying? About Sasuke?" Akki said. Naruto sighed.

"It's nothing. Never mind." he got up and left, Kyuu and Akki exchanging a worried look behind his back.

"…So, do you want to go bowling?" Akki asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Those two were beyond help.

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"Hey, Sasuke." Akki called at the retreating back. Sasuke turned, surprised that Akki was actually alone. That had to be a first. It was also too good a chance to pass up. He raised a mocking eyebrow.

"Missing something?" he was smirking. Akki flushed a bit, but didn't say anything in reply.

"So, are you going to ask Naruto to the festival?"

"Why the hell do people keep asking me that?" Sasuke growled.

Because you asked him on a date before and this is such a romantic holiday." Akki was laughing at him mentally, he knew it.

Last time I was here, the only festival was celebrating the defeat of the Kyuubi. You want me to take Naruto to that?"

Akki laughed, laughed, and told him that he had really missed a lot. "Ever since they found out about Kyuu and realized what a great person" - "You would know" -"What a great person he was, they changed it to celebrate the birthday of the fifth Hokage."

"I wonder whose idea that was." he muttered.

"Well, Hokage-sama was the one to suggest it, but only about half of her ideas got through the first festival."

"Like what?"

"Mainly the gambling tables." Akki replied. Sasuke snorted, unsurprised. Orochimaru had informed him on the details concerning his ex-team-mates, who he said were only legendary because of him. "I heard she spent about half of Konoha's money. Luckily, she lost most of it to a loyal Anbu, who gave it back. He just gave her a lecture first."

"How did the village find out about Kyuubi being Kyuubi?" 'and did everyone know but me?' He added mentally, annoyed.

"It actually wasn't that big of a thing, that's the problem of living in a ninja village, they know things. There was a fire, several children were caught inside. Kyuu tapped into a demon power stream and did something, and the fire almost froze. He ran in there and got them out safely. Unfortunately, a crowd had gathered and some of the ninja's there recognized it as a skill that only demons can use. And with the name Kyuu, it was an easy leap from there."

"Oh."

"So!" Akki said, his serious mood disappearing, replaced instead by a kid-at-Christmas look. "Are you going to ask Naruto? I know he'd really enjoy it! Come on!" He pouted, completely missing the cute mark and heading towards slightly disturbing. Sasuke felt his eye twitch.

"Ok, alright already! Why does it matter to you anyway? You're just going to spend the entire night necking with Kyuu anyway!"

Akki beamed. "And I will enjoy every minute of it, thank you."

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He was trying, and failing, to ignore the points and giggle if the girls as Naruto walked next to him on the crowded street. If he heard the word 'yaoi' one more time, he'd start ripping off heads. And to make it worse, he couldn't even say that it wasn't a date, because it was. This was supposed to be just another step in his Plan.

When he had thought it up, planned out romantic dates that Naruto couldn't help but love, he had been only thinking of the idea and not the actual practice. Dammit. There was no way he could get out of this now, not after the way Naruto's eyes had almost glowed when he had asked him, or the radiant smile that he had received when he had given Naruto a stuffed black cat that looked more like a cloud of fluff than an animal.

It had been completely ruined when Naruto had said that it reminded him of Sasuke. That had not been the desired reaction. He would rather be thought of as a fierce panther or wolf, but a cat! A freaking adorable cat plushie! That plushie was on his ever increasing list of people to kill.

Naruto had dragged him over to an origiri stand and had ordered them each a large helping of food, which Naruto had scarfed down at alarming speed. Sasuke realized that he shouldn't have been so surprised. No matter how much things changed, some things would always be the same.

Then Naruto had grabbed his wrist, tugging him toward a hill that looked over the entire village, which was probably why the girls were giggling. The fact that the fire works were about to start didn't make it any better.

They got there just as the first emerald sparks lit the night sky. Each spark after that was a different color, each one more intricate and beautiful than the last. But Sasuke was surprised at himself when he realized that he wasn't even watching, yet still amazed. He realized that he was watching Naruto, watching the colors light up the blonde's face in multiple showers of rainbow hues, watching as fascination and happiness crossed Naruto's face.

And he wondered even more if he should be concerned when his heart skipped a beat when Naruto had turned to him, his face bathed in the light of a golden spark, and smiled. And why was he was still lying in bed, hours later, thinking of the kiss that Naruto had given him on the cheek as he had left him at his doorway?

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It happened in the worst way, at the worst time. But then again, nothing ever goes according to plan. Sasuke had been training with Naruto again, with Akki and Kyuu fighting secretly in the background. They were, for once, actually sparring. It started then, when Sasuke took a momentary break, glancing over at the other two in the clearing.

He froze, every muscle locking in shock. He knew that fighting style. He knew it. And not in a Sharingan way, no. This was a fighting style that only two people even knew anymore, the one that he had learnt with single-minded determination for the first few years of his life. The one he had asked his brother to help him learn.

The one Itachi fought with.

Naruto followed his gaze and swore. Sasuke was still watching the two sparring, and didn't even notice as his sharingan started swirling, faster and faster in a genjutsu breaking spin. And he knew.

"You." he hissed, his voice not audible against the forest sounds. But he heard it anyway, spinning to face him, a look of horror that was mirrored by both Kyuu and Naruto. Sasuke wondered if there were some form of Sharingan that would truly enable you to kill with look, after all, if anyone could do it, it would be an Uchiha.

He started to move, but his muscles were sluggish, and some unknown emotion held him, mixing with the shock and forming a net that was almost solid. And when he broke out of that hold, he was caught in a more real grip and even through his fury he felt that warming glow softening his anger, a weakness he could not afford, that had been one of his reasons for leaving before.

But it wasn't a time for memories. Itachi was here, he should be taking revenge for his family, feeling the blood flow over his hands as the blood of his parents had bathed Itachi's hands so many years ago. But something was different.

This was a completely different person facing him now than had faced him that day, or all the other days in between. Instead of seeing the bloodstained halls of his house reflected in those eyes as he had in the recent past, those cold, dead, mocking eyes, he now saw the compassionate warmth of the brother he wouldn't let himself remember, or, even more, Akki, the friend he hadn't wanted to make. And there was something else in those eyes too, something so foreign that he almost could not place it. Fear.

This realization stopped his thoughts, which had been whirling in a speed matched by his sharingan. And he could hear what Naruto was saying to him now.

"-him explain. We let you back into Konoha, we gave you a second chance, let him have his." Naruto's voice was coaxing and he felt himself want to listen to it, just to give into the warmth of trust that Naruto radiated around him. He shook it off. He would not be weak.

Sasuke turned to glare at Naruto "Do I have a choice?"

Naruto grinned and shook his head cheerfully. Sasuke turned his head to scowl at his brother, who didn't look exactly like Sasuke remembered him, he looked almost timid.

"Let me go." he demanded.

"Hold on, I don't think this is the best place to have this discussion. Let's go back to my place." Naruto said, not lessening his grip. Kyuubi clearly agreed with this, doing a series of seals in quick sucession, and they were standing in Naruto's living room.

"Sasuke, if I let you go, do you promise not to commit homicide?"

"That" he growled out "It depends on what he says. I'll give him a chance to explain." Sasuke felt Naruto's arms loosen and wrenched his way loose, dropping onto the couch and glaring at Itachi. "Did you kill them?" he asked, sure that there would be no doubt as to who he was referring to.

Itachi bowed his head. "Yes. But, I think you need to know what happened."

"Why? Why the HELL should I give you a chance? You just admitted it! You think I care why!"

"Did you want me to lie, Sasuke? Would you even have believed me if I had? If I had told you that no, I didn't kill them, that they were wonderful people who never deserved that and that I did everything in my power to stop it? I thought you wanted the truth. I thought you deserved the truth, not just what you want to hear me say."

Sasuke stayed quite, glaring at him murderously, ready to make a chidori if he needed it. Itachi continued, his defiant voice softening.

"Let me explain. If you still want to, you can kill me when I'm done. I'm not proud of what I did, but I'd do it again. I'm only sorry that you had to be involved. So do you want to hear the truth, the horrible truth? Do you want to just kill me now, because you're an avenger and I'm wasting your time, or do you want me to tell you pretty lies that you want to hear?

Sasuke glared at him "Just tell me. I want the truth."

- - - To Be Continued - - -

Yes, I know, I'm evil. But I've never done a huge cliffie (not that this is that huge) but I want to see if I get more reviews. hint hint. Oh, and any ideas you guys have would be great. Thanks.


	5. The Sound Of Remembrance

Ok, Yes, I know that I haven't updated in a while, but I have a really good reason. I went on a two week vacation to England. And before that, this guy said that my computer had so many things wrong with it that if it didn't get fixed soon, it'd die. So he took it while we were in England and I only got it back today and then I had to go see Pirates Of The Caribbean, because, well, it's Pirates Of The Caribbean, duh. So yeah, Gomen.

- - - Recap - - -

Akki is really Itachi, and is just about to tell Sasuke why he killed them

- - - End Recap - - -

- - - -Start fic- - - -

"Let me explain. If you still want to, you can kill me when I'm done. I'm not proud of what I did, but I' do it again. I'm only sorry that you had to be involved. So do you want to hear the truth, the horrible truth? Do you want to just kill me now, because you're an avenger and I'm wasting you time, or do you want me to tell you pretty lies that you want to hear?

Sasuke glared at him "Just tell me. I want the truth."

Itachi sighed loudly. "The Uchiha's" he paused, wondering how to phrase it. "well, they weren't exactly. . . Everything they appeared to be. They were planning to overthrow the Hokage. I was having mixed feelings about this, after all, I was the captain of the Anbu squad and sworn to protect the Hokage at all costs, but on the other hand, I couldn't betray my family."

"Then why did you?"

"I wasn't going to. Then they went to far. They involved you. And Naruto. They wanted the power of Kyuubi, and." he paused again.

"And what?" Sasuke growled out.

"They wanted you to get it. By killing Naruto. Not pleasantly. It wouldn't have just killed Naruto, it would have killed you. If not physically then mentally. They weren't going to just kill him using some easy poison, or something, well, nice. They did want Kyuu after all. They wanted to, um, either cut the seal off, or make a whole through it."

Sasuke grimaced lightly. He could see how an older brother would not want his younger brother to do that. Although it didn't justify murder. "Is that all?"

"No. They said that if you did do it, they would put the Kyuubi in your body, using you as a sacrifice of sorts, as a mindless channel for Kyuu to take over and use your body. Which would, in theory, kill your mind. And if you didn't kill Naruto, they'd kill you anyway. I objected to this, of course, and they said that if I had a problem with it, I would do my part and shut up, or I could leave. So I did." he was looking miserable.

"So what happened?" Sasuke said, still not fully comprehending the 'going to kill you' part. Itachi shook his head.

"I was going to leave it at that, I was going to sneak you out, maybe take Naruto, and leave. Become a missing nin if I had to, although I was going to mention it to the Hokage, to tell him that, you know, people were trying to kill him, and that I had to leave, although I wasn't going to mention who. But, things got worse.

"Apparently, the Uchiha's don't like people defying them." he winced, as though the memory of what he was about to say was causing him physical pain. "They killed him. My best friend. I just, lost it. I don't even remember it, none of it. Just rage, and pain.

"And you, strangely enough, all though that part is a bit sketchy. I don't remember anything but your face, nothing about the room, or even what I said. I remember what I was thinking. That it would be better for you, at such a young age, to think that it was my fault. I could hardly tell you the truth, or even let you think it was someone else, not with what you saw. And I hoped that with a goal in mind, you could become strong, stronger than our parents, our family, even me, to show them what you could do."

"Oh" He couldn't really think of anything else to say, after all, what could he say. "I, I think I need to think about this."

Itachi's face fell, almost unnoticeable. Sasuke got up, heading toward the door of the house. Itachi sighed softly, looking a bit disappointed. Kyuu patted his shoulder comfortingly. "It's ok, Sasuke's a good kid, he'll forgive you, I'm sure."

"But I'm not sure I can forgive me, I mean, I took away his childhood, his entire life. I doubt he'll ever forget that, you saw how he just reacted. I guess I should have expected that, I mean, I didn't think that he would just forgive me right away, and we'd hug and have a Lee-Gai type moment" there was a collective shudder at the thought.

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Sasuke was sitting on the edge of the bridge that had served as a former meeting place for team 7, his feet dangling in the water. He had been there for a while, almost an hour, thinking. He couldn't just forgive his brother, he had sworn that he would one day avenge his family.

This was not something he could just forget and forgive. After all, who could forget the sight of your brother standing over the lifeless bodies of your parents, their hands drenched in blood. And who could forgive the person you had dedicated your life to killing.

But if Itachi was telling the truth, he could hardly kill him, after all, before the curse seal, could remember being willing to do anything to protect those he cared about. He didn't know why the memories struck him so hard now, he hadn't thought of that in years, he hadn't thought of anything other than power, of finally approaching his goal.

He was an Avenger, nothing else. Without that, he didn't know who he was anymore. He could not even remember the Uchiha Sasuke he had been before the 'accident' and the 'Sasuke-teme' of team 7 was a distant memory, one that he had tried to push away.

To forgive his brother at this point would be like giving up, admitting that he was wrong. It would mean that the past few years had been pointless, a waste of time, energy. . . And friends.

But to not forgive him at this point would be cruel. He knew now that Itachi had many roles other than just Sasuke's older brother. Itachi now had friends, and a lover, people who would miss him if he were to die. Even if he hated Itachi, he didn't hate Kyuubi, and he had seen how, well, close the two were, in a way that was often sickening.

And there were the past months to think about, the time that he had spent with 'Akki' who had been as much a friend as Kyuubi had been. Who had, in a way, been more, been like an older brother. Which, you know, made sense, all things considered. And, and he hadn't exactly hated the feeling. The one he ad forgotten, of having someone to talk to, someone to force him to do things he, almost, didn't want to do, like asking Naruto to the festival.

And Naruto. Naruto, who was a problem all by himself. To kill Itachi would be taking another friend away from Naruto, who he knew didn't deserve that, and at the same time, he would be taking away three people Naruto cared about. Itachi, Kyuu, and Sasuke himself. If he could kill Itachi, it would mean that returning to Orochimaru would no longer be important, it would mean that he could stay. But would he be welcome, after that?

But if there was another way, one that pleased everyone? Sasuke almost snorted, since when had that ever mattered to him? All that he ad used to care about was avenging his family. But now? Now that he knew that they did not deserved to be avenged, that to them, both he and Itachi had been pointless tools? Did it make a difference?

If he did not kill his brother, if he merely forgave him, choose a new goal to follow, a new path that had nothing to do with death, other than the ones of nameless missions? Would that truly make him happy? Did he even know how to be happy any more? And yet, since his return to Konoha, for whatever purpose that return had been, the colours had seemed brighter, more vibrant. Food had tasted better and everything had seemed, in a way, more _real_.

And now that he took a chance to re-examine the memories of the past, he had very few memories of his parents, and even less, with them being anything other than aloof to him. In fact, the person who appeared over and over again in happy memories, the one who had, it seemed, to raise him, was Itachi.

Had he, in his grief, built up his parents so much in his mind that they seemed important enough to completely forget everything about his childhood, that he would willingly kill the one he had been closest to?

But he could not abandon the power that Orochimaru offered, that still called him to it, the power that had caused him to abandon all morals again ad again. But he knew that he could not lose himself in that again. To do so would result in so many deaths, the most important being Naruto's.

But he could be a spy for Konoha. Return to Orochimaru with normal mission reports, continue to train, to gain that wonderful power, yet still be doing the right thing, doing the best thing by all accounts. He didn't have to tell anyone, after all. They had never known that he was still working for Orochimaru in the first place, so the fact that he had been would erode all trust, eve if he told them that he had denounced all loyalties to the 'snake-bastard' as Orochimaru was affectionately know in Konoha. Courtesy of Naruto, no doubt.

He heard footsteps on the path, accompanied by a familiar chakra, so he was not surprised when he saw Naruto sit down next to him. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, Sasuke still pondering, Naruto letting him do so.

Sasuke knew that, to all faces, he must appear normal. Which would, he supposed, mean that he continue to 'date' Naruto. Somehow the thought didn't bother him as much as it should have. He started a bit when Naruto suddenly spoke.

"You know, even though I never had a family, it doesn't bother me any more. By the time I was eight, I had a family, of sorts, Iruka. And then team 7 and the rest of Rookie 9. But I never forgot what it was like to be so completely alone, so I always tried to keep my family close to me. Something's are too painful to forget, but sometimes we can forgive." he paused. Sasuke wondered if Naruto was thinking, as he was, of how Sasuke had left all those years ago.

"But." Naruto continued "Sometimes we have to make a new family. Since you left, since Kyuu got a body, and when we met." he hesitated, as if fearing that by saying the name, he would somehow send Sasuke into a rage.

"Itachi?" Sasuke supplied helpfully. Naruto laughed nervously and nodded. "How the _hell_ did that happen anyway?"

Naruto laughed. "At first, I didn't know what the hell to make of it. I would have been happy with kicking his ass and going on with my day, but no, Kyuu has to decide to fall in love with the guy, and it's hard not get to know someone who's living with you. And making out with someone who's connected to you."

"Connected? Connected how?"

"Well, seeing as how Kyuu live in my body for almost sixteen years, we kind of started to merge a bit. It stopped when we got him a body, but when I'm not paying attention, I can some times hear his thoughts, or see what he sees." Naruto trailed off as his face turned a sudden violent shade of red, making Sasuke wonder exactly what Naruto had see or heard on such occasions. He figured now would be a good time for a strategic change of subject was in order.

"How exactly did that happen?" Maybe, if he heard more of these stories of his brother being a kind, thoughtful person, it would help him forgive

"Which? Them dating, or him moving in?" Naruto asked, leaping on the change of subject gratefully.

Sasuke shrugged "Tell me both."

- - - Flashback - - -

"Hey! Hey, Naruto! If I can catch some rabbit, can we have it for dinner? Please? Please please please?" Kyuubi whined.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sure." It had been almost a week since Kyuu had gotten his body back, and he was still getting over excited at simple things. Kyuu ran off to find said furry treat, with Naruto following at a slightly more reasonable pace. About to speed up till he could actually see the kitsune, he heard a sudden, loud twanging sound off to his right.

He followed the noise to a small clearing, where he saw Kyuubi suspended six feet in the air by a rope net. Naruto, being the mature and logical person that he was, did what any ninja would do. He pointed and laughed.

"Alright, you can let me down now." Kyuubi grumbled in annoyance, which only made Naruto laugh harder, although he did start to go let him down. Start would be the operative word in the sentence, as Naruto felt a sudden flare of an _almost_ familiar chakra.

Kyuubi clearly felt it too, because when Naruto moved towards the net again, he shook his head and made shooing motions. Naruto, about to argue, felt the person speed up, apparently having sensed the other two. Kyuubi glared at him, telling him to get the hell out of there and that no was not an answer.

Naruto, not about to just ditch his friend and run, jumped lightly into a nearby tree, just as the other person stepped through the trees. At first sight, he thought that it was Sasuke, and his heart leapt, but then the almost familiar red clouds appeared through the bushes and he recognised the elder Uchiha. Said Uchiha looked up at the net in evident surprise.

"Umm. . . Hi?" Kyuu said, raising a hand in greeting from his place in the air. Itachi looked even more surprised, but quickly hid it. Naruto stifled a sigh. What was it with stone-faced Uchiha's? Was there some weird Sharingan side affect that he should know about?

Itachi was now standing directly under the net, looking up at what he had caught with a slightly bemused expression.

"Well well, you don't look anything like a deer. Are you edible?" he asked, smirking slightly.

"Well." Said Kyuu, who had shifted so tat he could keep Itachi in his line of sight, "That depends." he stared down at Itachi, clearly expecting an answer.

"Alright, I'll bite, depends on what?" Itachi replied, his smirk widening. Naruto blinked. Were they . . . flirting?

"On what kind of eating you plan on doing." Kyuu winked in a very not subtle way.

"What type do you want me to do?" Itachi replied, his voice lowering slightly. Forget flirting, they were downright _hitting_ on each other! Before Kyuubi could come up with an answer, probably one that Naruto _really_ didn't want to hear, there was a loud ripping sound, and the net that Kyuu was suspended in suddenly snapped, depositing him onto of the Uchiha that he had just been talking to.

Despite, or maybe because of, the fact that both of them had incredibly fast reflexes, they had landed in an altogether too suggestive of a pose to be completely accidental. Kyuubi had landed with his legs firmly straddling Itachi's hips, their faces mere centimetres apart. And even that small distance didn't last long.

Naruto was, needless to say, quite startled when he saw the, erm, enthusiasm both seemed to be using. At that point, they probably could have told whether the other still had their tonsils. When they, _finally_, separated, both of them were flushed and a bit breathless.

"So." Kyuubi said, when he had regained his composure. "Want to go to a movie?"

- - - End Flashback - - -

Sasuke snorted.

"Ok, maybe that wasn't _exactly_ what he said, but the actual question was quite a bit less p-g, and seeing as how it's your brother in question, I think I'll spare you the truth. I just wish someone could have spared _me_. There are some things I don't need to know. _Ever_. It was love at first sight with those two."

"So how did he move in with you?"

Naruto laughed. "I have absolutely no idea, seeing as how none of us noticed that he had until after the fact."

Sasuke gave him in incredulous look. "How did you manage that?"

"Well, I happened slowly. I can tell you what happened the day that we found out, if you want. It's not a very large story, but it's good for a laugh or two."

- - - Mini Flashback - - -

"So, why is Kyuu going with you on this mission?"

"Because it was him or Ino. Don't get me wrong, Ino is nice and all, but I have absolutely no wish to spend two weeks with her."

Itachi sighed. "Where am I going to get my food? And all my clothes are at your house. Come to think of it, so are all my weapons and scrolls."

Kyuubi stared at him " . . .Are you . . . living with us?"

- - - End Flashback - - -

Sasuke stifled a laugh. He wished he could be surprised, but somehow he wasn't. This Itachi was so completely different from the brother he had grown up with, but somehow, it fit him perfectly. He saw Naruto glancing at him sideways, grinning broadly. Sasuke felt his own lips twitch upwards in response, and wondered what the hell was happening to him.

Had he really gone so soft in just three weeks? Already forgotten the promise he had made and worked for over the past three years. He hadn't smiled at all in that time, nor had he wanted to. Was he so caught up in this, this madness that he could feel like laughing so openly? That he could just casually give up his goal of almost a decade?

A silence had descended on the two of them, the mood instantly changing. Naruto felt this, but said nothing. He understood. Naruto always understood, which, if he thought about it, was actually a bit creepy. Sasuke opened his mouth, then closed it again, not sure how to say it, or if it could be said at all. Naruto remained silent. Sasuke would talk when and if he wanted to, and not before that, if he gave any hint of prodding Sasuke would probably not anything at all.

"I hate him." Sasuke said suddenly. Naruto glanced at him to show that he was listening, but looked back at the water so that Sasuke would not feel pressured. Talking to Sasuke, really truly _talking,_ was a complicated art that few had achieved or even wanted to achieve. But Naruto had, and he would again and again for Sasuke, always for Sasuke.

"I hate him." Sasuke repeated, as if telling himself. "But I don't, anymore. That fury, that angry burning rage that used to be everything, it's almost gone now. And I can't seem to care. Part of me wants to kill him, and enjoy it. But another part of me wants to be that little kid, and just have my brother back." he trailed off.

"There's a word for that." Naruto offered hesitantly. Sasuke laughed bitterly.

"Insanity?"

Naruto grinned a bit, but shook his head "No, family. It means giving and receiving and yelling and protecting and the occasional healthy urge to beat each other up."

"Then why didn't he tell me? I'm not some little kid that needs to be coddled and protected. And I wasn't then."

Naruto sighed, and Sasuke could almost feel that air around the blonde change. Naruto had the air about him that meant that he was about to make a wise and life changing speech about things no one that young should know about it, almost as if he were channelling the spirit of some long dead Hokage, or is he were only being the man he was meant to become.

"We're ninja's, Sasuke, that means childhood is a thing that we see other people doing, but for us, it just means smaller weapons and shorter jutsu's. But we're also human, and that means that we want to cling to things that we never really had, and to try and preserve that innocence in the people that we care about. Think about it, if right now, I told you that I wanted to kill Sakura, would you tell her, or would you just try and change it, even though you know that she is a capable ninja."

Sasuke didn't answer, but Naruto continued anyway.

"Being ninja's makes us mindless killing machines, surrendering identities and emotions for the sake of a mission. But being human means that we have emotions _to_ push away, and even though it's easy to lose those emotions in the sheer power of killing, or the rush that hate gives us.

"But other emotions are more powerful that hate. They give us something to hold onto when common sense and morals leave us. Anger and death may go hand in hand in this line of work, but we have to know where one ends and the other begins, because it's to easy to mistake the mindlessness of fury of rage for the blind apathy of killing, and the next thing you know, you're holding a kunai to their throat for a simple disagreement. When lines blur, we could lose ourselves, until the knots are so tangled that our true selves are impossible to find again."

Sasuke stared at him. Of all the speeches that he had heard Naruto make, this had to be the best one, or was that because it applied to him, because he could relate to it so completely. And the more that he thought about it, the more that he realized, Naruto was right. There was a difference between anger and in his blood-lust, he had forgotten that. It was okay for him to be angry at his brother, furious even, but he did not have to kill him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, looking a bit embarrassed by his speech. Sasuke, to both of their surprise, smiled, slowly, yes, but it was a definite smile. He felt more alive then he had in years, and wondered, not for the first time, if he had truly died with the rest of his family. But if that were the case, then it had been Naruto who had once again, done the impossible. He had brought him back

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"You know, if you keep pacing like that, you'll make a hole in the floor" Kyuubi said jokingly. Itachi ignored him, continuing to pace in ever quickening circles. Kyuu, seeing that Itachi looked as f he were about to bite his thumb clear off in the absance of the nail that had been there, stood up. He grabbed his boyfriends shoulders, halting the Uchiha in his apparent goal to make a permanent goal to destroy the floor.

"Itachi. Calm down. Take deep breath. In, out, in, out, that's it. This is what we call _breathing_, I've heard that it helps. Look at if this way, if he was going to kill you, we wouldn't have let you tell him the truth. None of it was your fault."

Itachi gave a hoarse laugh. "Not my fault? Not my fault? Yes it was, I can remember that much, at least." his eyes glazed over and gained a new look of pain in them. "I remember some parts of it. The feel of the blood. . . everywhere. It sometimes feels like it never came off." he rubbed his hands almost unconsciously on his cloak. "I don't remember much. I sometimes I think that it's worse that way. I don't know how they died. I don't know if it was quick and painless, or even if I tortured them."

Kyuubi, without even hesitating, said "You didn't."

Itachi wrenched his shoulders free. "How do you know! You weren't there."

Kyuubi didn't move as he stared unflinchingly into Itachi's pain filled eyes. "No. I wasn't. But I've been _here _for the last two years, and I know you. I know that, no matter what they did or deserved, it was as quick as painless as possible. Do you want to know how I know that? Because I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that no matter what happened to you, no matter what you may have been thinking at the time, you're a good person, and that you could never, ever, ever do something as malicious as deliberately cause them to die in agony."

"What about Sasuke?" It was said as almost a whisper. Itachi wasn't meeting his eyes anymore, but looking off to the side. "I killed his parents. I took away his childhood, his innocence, everything. I don't remember what it was that he saw, but, because of this dammed sharingan, I can't forget his face. That look. And sometimes, if I forget myself, if I look hard enough, I can see what he must have seen, reflected in his eyes." Itachi shuddered. "I took away everything."

"It would have been taken away anyway." came a sudden, new voice, and the sound of new footsteps clicking on the wood echoed eerily in the sudden silence. "From what I understand, I think that it worked out for the best."

The footsteps stopped in front of the elder Uchiha, who looked up, almost reluctantly, to meet the eyes of his younger brother who, slowly, tentatively, smiled. It wasn't a smile of happiness, but one that was almost like a peace offering. After all, he was the Almighty Uchiha Sasuke, and words were beneath him. Besides, this was his brother, and words weren't necessary. And this was just confirmed when Itachi, after he was done looking shocked, smiled back. He understood.

- - - To Be Continued - - -

Alright, I have nine days to write the next chapter on this, and to finish (and start) the first chapter of the sequel to Neko No Jutsu, so I'm kinda screwed. The reason I have only 9 days is that in that amount of time, I am leaving for camp for a month, so yeah, I will be writing, in my spiral, but I won't be able to post for a month, maybe more, because I have drivers ed the day after I get back, which is all day long for a week. Then school starts. So yeah, wish me luck, I shall be writing my butt off for the next nine days!

Also, I'm sorry that this is not beta'd, but I didn't have time, oh and feel free to offer ideas, I need some filler for the next chapter, since I need to have at least eight more pages before they can find out.


	6. The Sound Of Kissing

Okay! Hiya! I accidentally waited till the chappie was finished to write this, so right now I just wasn't to post, so this is gonna be short.

I really really want to post tonight, so it's not beta-ed yet, but it will be (I think) Gomen!

- - - Start Fic - - -

"Remind me again why I'm here?" Sasuke asked Naruto quietly as he tried not to watch his older brother making out with Kyuubi. It had been a bit weird when he had thought they were just two strangers, but now that he knew it was his brother, it was downright gross. After all, who wanted to see their sibling making out?

"You're here to bond with your brother." Naruto replied matter a factly, not taking his eyes away from the movie screen.

"The only bonding I can see happening in the near future is not something I want to be a part of." Sasuke replied, deciding that in the future, when Kyuu was with them, he was going to sit far, far away from both of them. Naruto gave him a faintly disgusted look and threw popcorn at him.

"Great, thanks Sasuke, now you're making me picture it!" he hissed. Sasuke winced in sympathy, realized who he was talking to, and started laughing quietly, what would have been a giggle on anyone else. Naruto stared at him for a minute, before joining in softly, slumping over onto Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke flinched at the sudden contact, but, as soft blonde hair brushed his skin and a scent that was purely Naruto, and a bit of popcorn, wafted over him, he decided that maybe he didn't mind that much. So long as Kyuubi and Itachi kept to their side of the movie theatre.

Giving the two's actions, he found himself greatly relieved that the Uchiha complex had it's own private movie theatre. It had taken a bit, but he and Itachi had talked about it, and decided that having the Uchiha complex just sit there would be a waste of space and that it would be better for all of them if they all moved in there, especially as Naruto's tiny apartment was having trouble fitting all four people in it.

Sasuke tried not to wonder how much of this idea of his brother had anything to do with Kyuubi.

When the movie was over, they split off in their own separate directions, sort of. Itachi and Kyuubi were, of course, sharing a room, which was conveniently located at the other side of the house as Naruto and Sasuke's rooms, which were across from each other. The four of them had chosen the main house as the place to live, seeing as it was the nicest and the biggest, and it would really be a lot easier than having to go to other houses to see each other.

Sasuke, who had continued to live in that house until he had left, was more used to it than Itachi was, although, as someone had mentioned, Kyuubi seemed to be doing a very good job at helping him make new memories. Sasuke also remembered throwing whatever he had been holding at the time at who ever had said it.

They stopped in between their two rooms, both feeling a strong, almost heavy mood in the air, almost as if the world were waiting for something to happen. Before he could lose his nerve, Naruto leaned in closer to the younger Uchiha.

"Night Sasuke." he whispered, before placing a feather light kiss on Sasuke's lips, before disappearing into his room. Sasuke stood outside his own door with his finger pressed to his lips for quite awhile as he waited for the tingles to disappear, and even longer in bed trying to figure out what they meant.

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"Hey! Gaara! Over here!" Naruto yelled loudly, waving wildly at the approaching red-head as Sasuke winced slightly. Gaara gave the hint of a grin as he followed the blondes voice, which wasn't exactly difficult.

"Hey Gaara! Long time no see, ne?" Naruto asked, slinging a casual arm around the red head when he finally reached their table.

"Hello Naruto, Uchiha." he smiled at Naruto and nodded a bit coldly, at Sasuke.

"Gaara." Sasuke responded, nodding just as coldly in return. He couldn't understand why he had the sudden urdge to beat Gaara's face in. He felt his eye twitch as Naruto ordered a bowl of soup for Gaara. Sasuke had planned for this to be another of his dates with Naruto, just in case Orochimaru had found some way to watch him, so that it would look like he was still 'wooing' Naruto. He just couldn't figure out why he was so angry at Gaara.

Or why he just got even angrier as he saw Naruto laugh at something Gaara had said, and hit Gaara on the shoulder. Great. Now Gaara was eating the soup that he had already offered to pay for, because he had told Naruto he'd pay. Not that he couldn't afford to, but that wasn't the point! He wasn't a freaking ATM machine. A small voice that told him that he wouldn't have cared if it had been Naruto eating it. He ignored it, what did it know anyway?

"So how goes the life of the Kazekage?" Naruto asked. Gaara shrugged. "Oh, come on! We want details!"

We? Sasuke thought.

"Nothing new." Gaara relented. Naruto pouted.

"Aw, you're no fun. When I'm Hokage, I'm not going to tell you anything." he huffed. Gaara was wearing an expression that implied that if he did actually have eyebrows, he would be raising one sarcastically.

"Is there any reason that I would care?" he asked coolly. Naruto stuck his tongue out playfully. Sasuke seethed. Who did this guy think he was? Acting like he owned the place, thinking he's so cool. Bastard.

"Hey, Gaara? Want some Ice cream? Me an' Sasuke were just going to go get some, you should come too!" Naruto asked excitedly. Gaara shrugged calmly. Naruto cheered and grabbed both Gaara and Sasuke's wrists, tugging them along behind him, and ignoring, or not seeing, the death glares they were aiming at each other.

"One chocolate ice cream, one strawberry ice cream and one, um. .." Naruto trailed off uncertainly, glancing back at Sasuke, clearly unsure as to what the Uchiha wanted.

"Black cherry." he filled in helpfully, trying not to ponder as to why Naruto exactly what Gaara wanted, as the thought made him want to kick something, hard, particularly the Sand nin himself. Gaara grinned.

"Baka." he said, ruffling Narutos hair affectionately, as Sasuke repeated over and over again that he would not break Gaara's fingers.

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Naruto stared incredulously at Itachi, his eyes glinting with vast amusement, and his mouth twitching with the attempt not to smile.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked, regarding the bright orange fur on the Akatsuki cloak with clear bemusement. Itachi looked sheepish.

"I went to see the old crew and Kyuu just had to come with me, but you never know when someone will go crazy trying to get his power."

"Or my amazing body." Kyuubi put in.

Itachi rolled his eyes "Yeah, or that, so I told him to go back to his deamon form, and I carried him with me, and he shed all over me!" he wailed pitifully. Sasuke watched as his mental image of his brother crumbled before his eyes. His eyes widened as something else Itachi had said sunk in, after he had gotten past how horribly in masculine that sentence had been.

"Old crew?" he asked.

"The Akatsuki." Itachi said casually, as if discussing the weather, and not a bunch of psychopathic maniacs in cloaks. Sasuke felt his eyes almost bug out of his head. _THE_ Akatsuki? As in the people who had tried to kill Naruto on more than one occasion. He ignored the fact that he had attempted to do the same thing.

"Oh, didn't I explain that?" Itachi asked. Kyuubi thwacked him on the head.

"No, you didn't, you baka!" he gave Sasuke a sympathetic look. Sasuke wondered what the hell was going on. Tell him what! Itachi looked a bit sheepish. "I think that you should sit down." Kyuubi said comfortingly.

"Well, the Akatsuki isn't exactly everything that they appear to be." he started cautiously. Sasuke resisted the urdge to say 'of course' sarcastically. His entire life had recently been flipped upside down, inside out, and spun in circles, why not add the Akatsuki?

"It's not really a bunch of crazy lunatics?" he asked instead.

Itachi gave him a withering look. "No, and even if they were, you would have just called me a crazy lunatic."

Sasuke smirked at him and didn't reply. Itachi hmphed, but continued with his story. "It is missing nins, but it's not what anyone thinks. It was started by people who were forced to leave their home village for some reason or another, but still care deeply for that village. We stop the villages from fighting within each other. Since we don't actually kill anyone, and no one else will be so kind, it works out."

"What about the people who try to join the Akatsuki because they really do want to hurt their village?"

"We leave them alone and they eventually get killed by the Anbu." he shrugged, clearly indifferent.

". . . What about Gaara?" Sasuke asked.

"What about him?"

"Didn't you, I dunno, kill him?" Sasuke, after the events of the morning, sort of wished that he had _stayed_ dead. Kyuubi blinked at him and suddenly entered the conversation.

"How do you know that?"

Sasuke shrugged vaguely. "I hear things." he said completely unhelpfully. He got the impression that saying that Orochimaru had spies everywhere would be a bad idea. Itachi eyed him in almost suspicion for a moment, but said nothing more on the topic, reverting instead to the Kazekage's death.

"You believed that? Oh good, that was the objective." He said.

"What!" Sasuke all but shrieked. Didn't anything make sense any more?

"Well, we heard that the Akatsuki was losing all reputation, becoming more of a joke, or something that mothers frighten children with, not an actual threat, and certainly not anything to respect and hunt, which was our entire point."

". . . You lost to Naruto. They got him back, and he didn't even stay dead, what the hell does that prove?"

"Well, first of all, I wasn't there, so I didn't lose to anyone. And we didn't actually want him to be killed, that was a novices stupid mistake. But in the end, people now fear us again. After all, we defeated a deamon helped Kage, I mean, come on, what more do you want?"

"And you don't mind at all that you _killed_ Gaara?"

"Well yeah, you should have seen how furious everyone was, after all, we were supposed to protect and stuff right? And we had just killed a very powerful leader. But, it worked out, didn't it?"

Sasuke was about to press the matter further, but he saw Kyuubi shaking his head and making other such frantic 'don't talk' motions. He wondered why, but dropped it, seeing as how Kyuu knew his brother better than anyone else. Although he was sure that it was mutual, he had heard Kyuubi say on more than one occasion that the only way he would ever leave is if it were for Itachi.

Again, they were so sweet they were sickening. How was his brother related to him? He could never be that sappy. He shooed away the picture of Naruto that flashed through his mind. It was true that he did know Naruto better than he even knew himself sometimes, but in a completely different way, right?

He wished that his inner voices could be more convincing.

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Sasuke, to his cast surprise, found himself slamming into the ground, and only by a quick twist did he avoid smashing his head on a tree. Never the less, hitting the ground is never comfortable, and the air was forced out of him. When he opened his eyes, when had he closes them, to see Naruto's equally surprised face peering down at him in concern.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked "That shouldn't have hit you. I don't think I would have landed that hit even when you were a gennin"

Sasuke said nothing, but accepted the outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. It had been a little over a week since he had learned the truth about his brother, he had been taking lessons of a sort from both Kyuubi and Itachi. Itachi taught him more about his bloodline, as well as other Uchiha family secrets. The only thing he could not teach him was the mayeko sharingan, saying that it wasn't something that you could teach.

Kyuubi taught him about chakra, how different types of jutsu's worked better to certain types of chakra, which was why bloodlines remained in a family, those jutsu's were the most specific of all, made to work only for the people who carried that chakra passed down through generations. It was why some jutsu's were easier to master by one person, while another person might struggle with it, even though they were normally the ones who grasped jutsu's faster.

It was why Naruto might not be able to get the same effects out of Sasuke's fire technique, while Sasuke might have difficulties with Naruto's kage bushin. Sasuke had taken this comment as a personal challenge and had been sparring more than one a day with said blonde. Out of all their spars, Sasuke had won 9 and lost 8, although he supposed that this more recent spar had been won by Naruto, making it 9-9, with 5 ties.

"Maybe we should break for lunch?" Naruto suggested, still peering at Sasuke in concern. Sasuke shrugged, and settled on the ground with the lunch handed to him. Cantaloupe? What the hell kind of food was that? He voiced this comment. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"It's quick and easy. Give it to me." he caught it effortlessly, tossing it up in the air. There was a blur of silver as his kunai flashed, neatly slicing it into fourths, two of which he took. The spent most of the meal in a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Sasuke, who was fully aware that Orochimaru kept spies at Konoha, had maintained the charade of 'dating' Naruto, taking things slowly so as not to scare the blonde off. He took another bite and chewed it slowly, still lost in thoughts, so much so that he did not see the strong look he was receiving, or even that the blonde was moving closer until he was met with a pair of laughing blue eyes

"Naruto? What are you-" he abruptly stopped talking as Naruto leaned closer still, his breath fanning against Sasuke's face, and licked him. Sasuke inhaled sharply as Naruto's warm, wet tongue lapped tantalisingly close to his moth, moving over it to the other side, before slowly sliding t over Sasuke's lips.

His tongue traced soft circles on the skin, leaning closer so that their lips touched, before slowly, gently, sliding his tongue over the seam in his lips, which opened carefully. Naruto's tongue slid in, caressing Sasuke's own, shifting so that their bodies were pressed together tightly

Maybe, Sasuke thought hazily, he hadn't been taking things fast enough. He shivered lightly as Naruto's mouth moved slowly across his face, lips brushing his ear. His heart sped up as Naruto's tongue

feathered across the edge of his ear, before nibbling softly on the earlobe. Sasuke jolted as if a shock had gone through him, and he made a low sound deep in his throat.

It was only when Naruto's lips stirred against his ear in a grin that he realized what exactly was going on. He, Uchiha Sasuke, was acting like an _uke_! And it wasn't even a real relationship, so there was absolutely no reason what so ever for him to just, just submit himself! He gave a growl as his hands latched onto Naruto's, flipping them over so that he was straddling the blonde's hips, holding Naruto's hands above his head.

He smirked down at his prize as he admired the view. Naruto was staring up at him in surprise, which darkened into a blush when he noticed the heated stare he was getting. '_Yum_' Sasuke thought, leaning down to capture those delicious lips again and again.

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_Orochimaru-sama,_

_I am still working on my most resent mission, and I believe that it might require a bit more time than was originally planned, I request your permission to stay in Konoha for a few more months, as Uzumaki is proving stubborn._

_With respect,_

_Uchiha Sasuke_

_Uchiha-san,_

_Due to some rather unfortunate circumstances, our last remaining spy in Konoha has been discovered, and it would be foolish and futile to send in another. Your mission has changed You must still try your best to bring the Kyuubi to our side, by whatever means necessary, but until we have a new source of information, you must use your contacts to tell us everything that you hear. If you believe that Uzumaki can help, use him in whatever means you deem necessary. _

_Orochimaru._

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Sasuke entered the house with a slightly dazed smile on his face. To any one who didn't know him, it wouldn't have even been noticed, but to those who did, it screamed that something out of the ordinary, in a more than good way, had just happened.

Sasuke had gotten as far as the living room when he was cornered by a beaming Kyuubi.

"Sasuke! Just the man I was looking for!" he grabbed Sasuke's wrist, and dragged him onto a chair. Kyuubi sat across from him. "Well, I heard about what happened today!"

Sasuke paused for a moment, before his cheeks flared a sudden, pale pink. "Heard? From who? We only just got back!" he asked. Kyuu grinned at him.

"You forget, me an' Naruto are linked. A little bit ago, I felt this overwhelming happiness that wasn't my own. When I tried to investigate, I found myself unable to see through his eyes, or even feel any emotions, unless I focused. It wasn't that hard. May I be the first to offer my congratulations." the smile fell from his face.

"But if you ever, ever hurt him, I will personally hunt you down and make sure that you won't be reviving any clan. Ever. Is that clear?" his voice was hard and dead serious. Sasuke nodded mutely. "Good!" Kyuubi said cheerfully, doing yet another emotional 180. "I'm lad that's settled, since Naruto probably would have killed me if he even thought I had hurt you. He's wanted this for a loooooong time!" his voice was bubbly and giddy.

"What?" a long time? What did that mean?

"Whoops!" Kyuu said, covering his mouth childishly. "I've said to much, sorry!" he winked at Sasuke over his hand. The cheerful mood was cut through suddenly by a razor edge voice.

"Are you two talking about Naruto?" the words were filled with a dark aura, a mixture of emotions so complex, it was unreadable. Sasuke reached for his kunai pouch, the voice throwing him back to the icy voice he had heard so long ago, when he had been soaked in his parents blood. Itachi was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed, and his eyes cold.

"Not everything is about Naruto." Sasuke said tersely. This side of his brother put him on edge.

"Maybe not." Itachi replied carefully. "But a lot of things seem to be." he held up a scrap of parchment, the words on the paper written in a code that Sasuke recognised with a sinking dread. Sound.

- - - To Be Continued - - -

And that is why I did not post it before camp, I didn't think you'd want to wait a month for the next one. Sorry it took so long, I had drivers ed the week I got back, then pure chaos up till now. Just remember, reviews make the chapters come faster!

p.s. anyone here live in/near N.C.?


	7. The Sound Of Pain

GOMEN! I've been writing, but I've only had time to write in my spiral, and I had no time to transfer it, and even that was only a few pages, and I really just haven't had time. The first few weeks of school are busy! Gomen! I'll try to do better (although I'm not sure how, 'cause this is kinda as far as my plans went, so I'm kinda screwed, any ideas are welcome) anyway, heres the chapter I've had planned since Day One.

- - - Start Chapter - - -

Itachi regarded him with cold eyes as Sasuke felt his face pale. Why hadn't he burned it? Was he getting so sloppy? Was it because he had stopped thinking of it as a real mission, because he knew that it wasn't real? But Itachi didn't know that.

Sasuke, for the first time that he could remember, was at a lost for words, but he could tell from the icy look his brother was giving him that anything he said would be pointless. Kyuubi, who clearly had no idea what was going on, was looking back and forth between them in confusion.

"I-" Sasuke started to say, what he wasn't sure, anything to make that look go away.

"Save it, Sasuke. Go find some other village to spy on. And leave Naruto out of it." Itachi hissed. In the past few years since he had arrived in Konoha, Naruto had become a kind of younger brother to him. Kyuubi, beside him, gasped as realization hit him, and he turned to Sasuke with a horrified expression.

"But-"

"Don't you think you've done enough damage."

"But you don't understand-"

"No. I don't. I'd think that betraying a village once is enough. I'd think that trying to destroy your best friend, physically _or_ mentally is more then enough, but you apparently disagree. And I'll never understand that. Whatever your reasons may have been, or may be, that's no excuse. This village, Naruto, has only just started to get over what you did the first time, I don't think they need to deal with this to. If you go, I won't tell him."

"Tha-"

"Just leave. And don't, for a second, think that I'm doing this for you."

Sasuke wanted to protest, to argue, to explain, but what had his brother said that was untrue? When he had come here, it was with the intention of destroying everything, including Naruto, the physical of the former, the heart and soul of the latter, and that was so many times worse. He got up, stiffly, and walked out the door, hearing it swing closed behind him. Itachi didn't turn.

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Naruto could feel his feet hitting the ground in long steady strides and hear the blood pounding in his ears as he ran, and he focussed on those sounds with the single minded determination that he was known for. If only for a short while, it blocked out the sound of Itachi's voice, and, even worse, the ringing sound of everything Sasuke _hadn't_ said, everything he _hadn't_ denied.

But there was still a chance, there was always a chance. He had to stop Sasuke, had to hear it from him, there had to be some reason, some explanation. He had been so giddy, so bubbly with emotions. Sasuke was his. After all these years Sasuke was here and real, and felt the same. Then, like a blast of icy water, he had been hit with a wave of horror and despair not his own.

It resonated down the bond that connected him to Kyuu and, curious, he had followed it, and, to his surprise, he had been able to see clearly, as the mental walls that always made his 'vision' a bit hazy (more so when Kyuu was trying, as he did during . . . other activities) And he had heard everything. And he had seen the look on Sasuke's face. It wasn't a 'what the hell are you talking about' expression of someone innocent. His face had been covered with guilt and had an over all air of 'oh _fuck_' surrounding him. He had to stop Sasuke, to see if it was true. If Sasuke was really a spy.

But he couldn't be, he wouldn't. '_But he did before_' a traitorous voice whispered. Well, technically, he hadn't actually been a spy, per say, but the point remained that apparently, Sasuke would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Naruto hook his head. It was true. It couldn't possibly be true. Could it?

He could see the gate now, and knew, somehow, that this was how Sasuke would try to leave. And Naruto would be there, stopping him. He could feel the familiar chakra approaching, before, less then a moment later, it came to an abrupt stop in front of him. Onyx eyes stare unflinchingly into his own.

"Is it true?" He asked softly, his voice begging, pleading, for Sasuke to deny it. For him to make any sign that it wasn't true. A 'No', a shake of the head, a WTF look, hell even a laugh! Anything. He didn't even have to do anything, if he just looked at Naruto in that _way_, that bone melting, so-much-cooler-than-you, damn-I'm-sexy-come-lick-me aura, even if Naruto was the only one who interpreted it as such.

But there was nothing, Sasuke's eyes were carefully closed to all others, but to Naruto, who knew Sasuke better then he knew himself, they showed guilt. The air was heavy with all the things not being said, all the things that were not being denied. Then Sasuke looked away. Not much, a miniscule flicker of the eyes towards the gate. But it told Naruto everything. Sasuke was looking for a way to escape, to leave. Again.

Naruto stepped back, his blue eyes blank as he watched Sasuke warily.

"Why?" He whispered brokenly. Sasuke looked away and didn't answer. What could he possibly say? Whatever his motives might be now, he had come to Konoha with the single-minded intention of killing Naruto, in a manner of speaking. His entire return had been a lie, and nothing he said now could change that. He deserved everything Naruto might do to him.

But Naruto didn't do anything. He just stared at him with those dead eyes. "Go Sasuke." his voice was toneless, devoid of all hope, a weary sigh of someone defeated and to tired to care.

"What?" Sasuke managed to gasp out, shocked by the sudden and uncharacteristic change in behaviour

"You want to leave don't you. Then leave. I'm sure you have better things to be doing than talking to me." The last bit was spat out with a horrible, self mocking smile.

"Naru-"

"Please, Sasuke, leave."

And so he did, wishing that this time, Naruto would follow him, and bring him back, so that he could have a reason to never leave again. But the path behind him was silent, even as Naruto's legs failed to support him and he collapsed, staring after Sasuke with anguish in his eyes.

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Itachi reread the slip of paper in his hand, although his had memorised it almost an hour ago. 'Bring the Kyuubi at all costs' All costs? What did that mean? Was this a new revenge scenario of Sasuke's, aided by Orochimaru? To use Kyuu as bait to get to him?

Or was it another plan by another evil to get their hands on deamon power? Whatever the point was, the result would be the same. Kyuubi would be hurt, and Itachi was not willing to let that happen. He knew that the kitsune still felt the guilt of his actions sixteen years ago, and felt that both Naruto and the village needed to be repaid, so it was possible that he would not leave the village, unless joining Itachi or Naruto on missions.

Except. . . Unbidden, an almost forgotten phrase bubbles into his head 'The only thing that I would leave for is Itachi' He winced at what had once been a happy memory. Now it stuck like a thorn in his mind. If they truly just wanted the power that Kyuu held, they would surely get it through Itachi, since Sasuke now had information he needed and more.

But if it was a ploy to get Itachi, another aim towards revenge, than Kyuu would be the one used as bait, a sacrifice that they must know he would do anything to save. Either way, it all tied back to him.

When his family had died by his hands, and he recalled the look of his little brothers face, or the tombstone engraved 'Shishou', along with the image of _that_ blood stained corpse, he had sworn to himself, again and again, that he would no longer be the cause of more pain or suffering, that he would never allow anyone to be hurt on his behalf.

And Kyuubi, who was not just one face out of many, who was, in so many ways, Itachi's life, his heart and soul and he would do anything to protect him, his most precious person, no matter what that price may be

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Kyuu grabbed his head, throwing up wall after wall to block out the waves of depression that were not is own. "Naruto knows." he growled out, fighting the urdge to go to the nearest cliff and jump off. And if this were only an echo of the original feelings. . .

He found Naruto sitting on top of the Hokage mountain, leaning against one of the spikes that made up the hair of the Fourth. He was watching the sunset stain the village a deep, blood red, casting an eerie ruby halo on his own golden hair and making his own eyes glitter strangely. Kyuu sat down beside him, not saying anything.

Naruto didn't seem surprised to see him, and merely leaning in to the sympathetic arm that was placed around his shoulders and Kyuu did his best to radiate calm and peace through Naruto's tattered shields.

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"Dammit, Tsunade! What the hell is this supposed to be?" Naruto demanded, slamming the packet of papers down on his desk and glaring at her. She raised a single eyebrow.

"That, gaki, is a mission, yours, if I'm not mistaken." she watched him seethe calmly, he must be really mad if he had called her by her name, and not his usual irritating endearment.

"I know that!" he snapped "I mean, why the hell am I getting D-class missions? You have gennin for this!"

"If it's to hard for you. . ."

"It's a goddamm FENCE PAINTING!" he yelled, a vein throbbing in his forehead at an alarming, and surely unhealthy, rate. "That's my third this week too! I'm not a fucking CHILD!"

She blinked at him, then sighed, gesturing for him to sit down, which he didn't. "It's just that, after what happened."

"What?" he snarled, furious. "You mean Sasuke? You think I can't handle that. I grew up with betrayal, this is nothing new! Now you can take you bloody charity missions and shove them up your-"

"Tsunade-san?" The door opened as Shizune opened the door, flinching as Naruto turned to glare at her

"What!"

"Um, never mind." she squeaked, and closed the door quickly. Naruto took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, and sighed, the anger draining from his body.

"Please, Baa-chan, just give me something real to do. Something hard, something to. . ." he trailed off, but she understood. Something to take his mind off of it. She looked him over carefully, taking in the tired posture of defeated eyes that only held shadows of happiness. Slowly, she nodded, reaching under her stack of papers to pull out a mission that she had been wondering who to give to.

"Here, it's simple enough in concept, but an A-class none the less."

"Thanks baa-chan" he smiled wearily at her, a bare upward tilt of his lips.

"Sure. And Gaki, if you do this right, I'll treat you to that new sushi place that you like."

"Yeah. I'd like that." The door clicked behind him, echoing in the room as she placed her head on her desk and thought of what she'd do to both Sasuke and Orochimaru when she saw the next.

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Itachi steeled himself, taking a deep breath and reaffirming his will. He knew that it was cruel, to do this to both Kyuu and Naruto so soon after Sasuke's. . . after what Sasuke had done. And a hurt Kyuubi was better than a dead one. He would get over, and when he did, he would forget all about Itachi, and he would be happy. And that would be enough. It would have to be.

He repeated that to himself as he slammed open the door where Kyuubi was reading, fixing a horrible smirk on his face.

"Hey 'Tachi." the kitsune greeted, glancing up from his book, and frowning when he saw Itachi's expression. "What's wrong?"

Itachi regarded him coldly, but said nothing.

"'Tachi?" Kyuu repeated cautiously. "Itachi, are you alright?"

Itachi opened his mouth, mentally wincing at how cold his voice sounded. It was like being back in that distant memory over ten years ago. "I've been thinking, since Sasuke left, there's really no point in my staying here any longer."

Confusion spread across the deamons face. Those two sentences didn't seem to connect at all, and the second one was barely even registering on his mind. "What do you mean?"

Itachi forced himself to sneer mockingly. He had been wrong, this was worse, far, far worse then that memory was, because he was in the here and now, knew that he was doing it, and doing it any way, watching the looks spread over his love's face.

"You mean that you honestly haven't figured it out yet? I'm here on my own mission, to get you."

"To, what?"

"What are you, stupid, or deaf. To get you. To harness the power of the legendary Kyuubi deamon. But, since clearly someone else had the same idea, I don't really think that you're worth it anymore. And if I leave now, it means that I don't have to keep up this _stupid_ play acting." He hoped that Kyuubi would hate him now, would curse at him, hit him, anything! He hated himself for doing this, why couldn't Kyuu?

"P-play acting?" Kyuubi stuttered. Itachi smirked.

"Yes, play acting." he stressed the word, drew it out painfully.

"B-but I thought-"

"You thought what? That I loved you?" He forced himself to laugh cruelly, mentally wincing as he saw the expression on the fox's face.

"So, everything that we did, everything that you said, it was all a lie? Just because I was-"

Itachi cut him off. "Yes, because you were a deamon. I guess I thought you'd be useful." He laughed again. "But I was wrong. It's not worth it anymore." He broke the eye contact and turned around, his Akatsuki cloak swishing around his ankles as he walked out, feeling Kyuu's gaze on him, even as the door swung shut behind him. He winced at the horrible finality of the door's resounding click

- - - To Be Continued- - -

Okay, I know it was short, but this was an okay stopping point, and I just want to post it! Ok, I have something to say. Normally, even when authors ask for it, I very, _very_, rarely suggest things or give ideas, because I feel like they will get offended that I am butting into their fic, or something.

I want it known that, at least with me, that IS NOT the case. I love ideas, they give more life to the story, making it more real, ideas from more than one person, a refreshing new thing. Any ideas are loved, I can get something out of _anything_. Most of my best chappies are from suggestions and the ideas that my mind creates from that.

Plus, it makes me feel like my story is good enough that people can get enough into it that it can even give others ideas. (kinda like how books like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings have 100 times as many fics as books that are just as well known, but less engaging)

Not to mention yes I have had this chapter in my head for months. And I could write the rest by knowing where I wanted to go. Now I have only the faint shadow of an idea. Basically, what I'm trying to say is this;

_**If you have an Idea, tell me, please. Even if it's half formed or a suggestion or anything. I really love them **_

One more thing, although this is less important, since I bet only 5 percent of you even read this far. I'm going to be honest here. Reviews inspire me, no matter what they say. It makes me think 'Hey, these are real people, who like my stories enough to take time out of their day to write me a review. I should at least do the same for them' some, the really nice ones just give me an overwhelming urge to write, a writing energy pill, if you will.

So, and this is not a bribe, it's a fact, if you want me to get chapters up faster, then just write a review. Yes, it does take time, but not that much, and every three seconds that it will take you to write a review, is probably equal to anywhere between 3 minutes to 3 hours of writing. .

I really hope you like the chapter, and don't kill me. Now, I need to shut the hell up, and post the damn chapter


	8. The Sound Of Drinking

Sometime, in the many years since the villages had sprung up and began interacting with each other, a common meeting ground had been decided upon, where treaties and other such political movements would take place in times when meeting in the villages would be rather difficult, such as in times of war.

This place had been called into existence in the early days of the founding, in a place where the two largest villages, Sand and Konoha, seemed to mesh creating an oasis like tropical paradise, where, it was decided, no one could inflict any purposeful harm on anyone else.

Many businessmen had seen such a place as the perfect opportunity, and, along with the town centre and hotels, a large crop of casinos, bars, and hot springs had popped up, seemingly over night. Not to mention the odd wedding parlour, where illicit lovers for rival villages came to pledge eternal love to one another, but that was not talked about, and therefore did not exist.

In times of peace, when village leaders would visit the other villages to demonstrate their trust, not to mention show off their impressive strength, The Village, for that was it's name, had become a safe haven for ninja's looking to escape the violence that haunted their everyday life.

It was a common occurrence to see a ninja at a bar drinking as much alcohol as was legal, and then some more that probably wasn't. Itachi had never thought of himself as one of these ninja's. He had always believed that he was an Uchiha, that he was strong and such things could not bother him. So far, that was still true.

But there were something's that bared forgetting. Such as the look on Sasuke's face that echoed in his Sharingan when he had seen him on _that day_. That had been there first time that he had ever turned to alcohol as an escape. The second time was for a horribly similar reason. To erase the expression that he had caused.

He had made a beeline to the quiet part of town, where the bars left the partying edge and began to take on the age of the dark and forgetful. The one he finally stopped at was quite, undisturbed, and had the best alcohol in the town.

It also had very few customers, the only other one was a dark haired man on the far side of the bar, his features cast into shadow as he added another empty glass to the rapidly growing pile. Itachi wondered distantly what he was trying to forget, but it didn't matter. He had his own memories to drown, and the sooner he forgot that, the better.

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Naruto was walking through the streets of the village, for once not even bothering to go by way of the trees that gave Konoha it's name. He knew that people were looking at him, staring outright, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

The townsfolk were indeed staring outright, shocked to see the normally cheerful blonde that they all knew, and some of them loved, to have such a lost and lonely look on his face.

Even fewer of them knew how much of his pain that Naruto was not showing, having become an expert at hiding his feelings at a young age, it had become second nature to hide all his emotions behind a blinding smile, but now, his pain was so great that the effort it took to maintain that smile suddenly seemed as if it were no longer worth the effort.

Kyuubi was no longer with him, since he had retreated back into Naruto's body, feeling as if it were no longer worth it to face the outside world when he had his own little mental corner to retreat to.

Naruto sighed as he finally reached his house, pulling the door open, wincing as the muted creak of the hinges echoed through the lonesome house. It had been a long time since he had been in his own house, since the four of them had moved back to the Uchiha compound. But now, in just a few short days, both the Uchiha's were gone, leaving trails of emptiness behind them.

This empty house, which had been filled with laughter and happiness, even before Sasuke came back, and now it was all gone. The darkness seemed darker, heavier, and stronger, looming over him in an omnipresent, depressing sort of way.

He did, however, smile a bit when he saw the basket of wine and yellow sunflowers sitting on his kitchen table. People had begun to notice the difference in his behaviour; especially the ninja's who worked below him in the Anbu squads. This had to be from Haru, one of his favourites, because he was always kind and thoughtful.

Naruto sat down, and contemplated the bottle of wine for a moment, before shaking his head. It was tempting, yes, but he had a mission ahead of him. Although . . . the point of the mission was for him to forget about Sasuke, and alcohol would work just as well. . .

He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. He had once sworn that he would never lose himself to that poison, not after seeing what it did to people. Shrugging, he opened the scroll that held his mission and reread it.

_Lady Lorelle, daughter to the Lord of the Shadow Nation, is being held for ransom in the Village Hidden in the Sound. We wish to have her retrieved immediately. Should any harm come to her, the consequences will be severe and immediate. We expect that the mission will be givin to Konoha's finest. _

The report went on to describe the girl herself. Naruto had, at first, been furious that his mission had anything to do with Sound, but, as Tsunade had said, with the villages being on the brink of war, it was rare to receive a mission that did not involve Sound.

Naruto scowled at the room in general, he did _not_ want to go there. But a mission was a mission, and since he had begged for it, he could hardly refuse. So, emotions had to be put aside. He had gotten good at that.

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Sasuke signalled for another glass to be sent his way, slapping a few more coins down as he stared mournfully into the amber coloured liquid. He wondered if Orochimaru knew that he was here, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Nothing really mattered anymore.

He couldn't figure out why he felt this way. He had been planning to do just that when he had accepted this stupid mission, and here he was, trying desperately to drown the look on Naruto's face.

The mixture of emotions were unknown to him, a strange combination of regret, loneliness, and a strange feeling that this was all his fault. Was this what guilt like? If so, he didn't like it.

The thing that occupied his mind the most was Naruto. Again and again he saw him, unable to think of anything else. Already the thought and memories were losing their cutting edge, their sharp, biting corners dulled by the alcohol.

But why was he reacting this way? Why did he keep imagining the look on Naruto's face when Sasuke had kissed him back, or the shattered expression when Sasuke had so clearly _not_ denied everything.

More than once, his thought returned to Itachi, though not with the same intensity. Instead, he felt a kind of dull loss, regret for the brother that he had never gotten to know, and now never would.

A clink of glasses caught his attention near the other side of the bar. He had heard the other man walk in, but had ignored him. Now, glancing up on reflex alone, he saw something that he had definitely _not_ expected to see. The red clouds that marked an Akatsuki member.

He choked on the swallow of alcohol that he had been about to take , which caused the cloaked man to glance over. Spinning sharingan met coal black.

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The halls were eerily silent as Naruto moved through them, barely even a whisper in his presence. He could sense two, no, wait, three, chakra's ahead. Two felt very strong, and the other felt muted, like steel muffled under wool and silk. He rolled his eyes. _Amateurs_. Anyone knew that to find the secret location, you just followed the most powerful chakra trail, since only the most powerful guards would protect it.

Hearing the murmur of voices, he stopped. Then felt the urdge to bang his head on his hand. They were _talking_. Those idiots. You never talked in front of prisoners, they might be rescued, and then they would know things that they weren't supposed to know. Like, he strained his ears to hear, Sasuke.

Wait, _Sasuke_?

"Sasuke-sama hasn't been himself since he came back from that Konoha mission."

"I hear it's because he failed. That he was found out, and only barely managed to escape with his life, much less the mission."

"No, that's not it. He finished the mission, and he let himself be caught. I mean, if he never got to finish the mission, how would we know all those Konoha secrets?"

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that Konoha is planning on destroying the peace treaty with Sand and that their Hokage is really a bushin clone of one of the ANBU, used to make Orochimaru-sama think that it's his old team-mate."

At this, Naruto was giving them an incredulous expression. What the hell had Sasuke told them anyway? Whatever it was, it was wrong. In fact, it was downright ludicrous! In his surprise, the tight hold he had on the 'blanket' that was masking his chakra 'slipped', and the two stopped talking.

"Did you feel that?"

There were footsteps, and Naruto sighed. Caught. Oh well, it didn't matter to him. He was not in the greatest of moods, and having some one to blast would make him feel better.

"Who there?" one of them demanded, turning the corner to see a tall man leaning against the wall, a mask covering his features, the perfect picture of aloofness.

"Hi."

They each raised their respective weapons, one guard holding a double bladed sword with the handle in the centre. The other held an overly large throwing star, not unlike the one that Sasuke had used in his early days as a gennin, abandoned at water country.

He scowled at it. He did _not_ want to be reminded of Sasuke at the moment, he had a mission to do, and he had to keep his mind on that and that alone.

"Who are you?" one of the guards questioned warily, making sure to keep his sword raised. Naruto grinned wolfishly, and they both gulped.

"Look, I'm not really in a good mood right now, so if you could just step out of the way. . ." The look that he was giving them left them with no suspicion as to what he would do if they did not move.

They didn't. After all, they were highly trained warriors, and they did not move out of the way for anyone, no matter what. They each raised their weapons in unison, a silent barrier to the dark, steel doors behind them.

Naruto's grin widened, before he, to all outward appearances, disappeared. He slipped up behind the one with the windmill shiruken and started to raise his own kunai to the man's neck, but was pleasantly surprised to find it blocked by the sword of the other. He grinned again. They were going to be a challenge.

He smirked at them. "Do you want to know why they call me Konoha's fire?"

The one with the double bladed sword rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you breath fire or something."

Naruto winced, that reminded him too much of Sasuke. He glared at the man, who glared back defiantly. "Wrong." he ground out. "And you're pissing me off, so instead of wasting our time with this stupidity, how 'bout I just _show_ you."

Naruto pushed a large amount of his chakra into his own kunai and shiruken until both were almost red hot. It had, over time, become one of his signature moves, because you could usually tell his opponents apart from others because of their distinct burn marks. This time was no different.

Naruto had trained often with team Gai, the perfect team when you wanted to improve certain areas. With Ten-Ten, he had learned how to fight most weaponry based attacks, with Lee, most hand to hand battles, and with Neji, the Genjutsu's. It has his training with Ten-Ten that he called upon now.

Shiruken windmills had one weakness. The centre. A talented ninja could throw a kunai through it while the blades spun harmlessly. It wasn't easy, but it could be done, and Naruto did it now. He focused on the centre, most of his attention only in that, though he watched the other out of the corner of his eye.

Then, so fast that it was almost a blur, he tossed the kunai, letting it whistle through the air and into the man's shoulder, immobilizing him temporarily. The other man was simple, too distracted by the fact that his comrade was injured. Naruto sent a shirukin into the mans leg. No matter how angry he may have been, he was no killer. Slipping up behind the two temporarily immobilized men, he knocked them both out with the blunt end of his, now cool, kunai.

He strode up to the large door and contemplated knocking it down for a second. He decided against it, since he had no idea where the girl was, and didn't want to hurt her. He glared at the lock for a moment, then reached down into his boots, which he wore midway up to his knee. There was a small pocket on the inside, from which he pulled two thin strips of metal. Lock picks.

His tongue poking out slightly in concentration, he worked the locks like a master, and in minutes the lock clicked open. He pushed the door slightly, and it swung wider than he had expected. He snorted. Sloppy. He wouldn't doubt if this room had been made on the spot.

The darkness gave way to reveal a slender girl in a long, elegant dress, now far less elegant than he was sure that it had been when she had bought it. "Who's there?" she demanded.

He raised his hands passively. "Konoha Anbu, I'm here to help."

She eyed him, well, she actually eyed the wall near his head, suspiciously, and walked slowly in his direction. "Are you alright?" he asked, because she didn't really look like it.

"I'm fine Just get me out of this room so that I can see." she murmured. He blinked. Didn't the report say that. . . He shrugged and followed her as she felt her way carefully out the door, before she breather a heavy sigh of relief and spread her arms wide.

"Ah, vision!!" she grinned. I hate chakra proof rooms. Hate 'em!!" She turned to him, her long black hair swishing elegantly behind her. "So Mister-Konoha-Anbu, do you have a name?"

He paused, wondering if he should give her his real name, then decided that it wouldn't matter. It was now a large possibility that they would get a treaty with Shadow Nation, and lying to her would only make things worse. "Naruto."

"Oh, I've heard of you."

"Who hasn't?" he muttered. "Well, Lady Lorelle, should we be going?"

She scowled at him darkly. "Don't call me that. I don't like it. Lady, I mean. My name is Lore."

"Lore?" he repeated, amused.

"Yes Lore, you know, like stories."

"If you say so." he was grinning now. He liked her, she was nothing like what he had been expecting, a spoiled noble brat, or even like other girls, who either hated him or flirted with him.

"Um, what do we do about them?" Lore asked, pointing to the two men on the ground.

"Leave them, I guess." he shrugged, his really didn't care. She rolled her eyes at him.

"We can't do that, they'll tell someone. At least let me alter their memory a bit?"

He blinked. This girl was full of surprises. "Sure."

She bent down and laid her hands on each of their foreheads. Her hands glowed a soft yellow for a moment, then faded. She bounced back up again with a grin. "All done!"

He glanced down at the two guards on the floor and nodded. It would do. Others would find them, and it would be amusing to see them try and sort it out, with the guards having no memory and all. But he still had a mission, and couldn't stay to watch, no matter how much he wanted to.

He led the way out the village, Lorelle following him like the shadow her land was named for. When they were a safe distance away, he stopped and turned to look at her in confusion. "I'm sorry to be rude, but aren't you, I mean, um, it said you were-"

"Blind? Yes, I am."

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"We are both idiots." Sasuke laughed bitterly into his glass, his voice hushed, but oddly unslurred, considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed. Itachi nodded, and they toasted each other gloomily as they each took another swig of their glasses.

The bar tender was watching the two of them in amazement. These two men, both of which look almost identical, had walked into the same bar, each equally unaware of the other's presence! Then, when they actually see each other, they just stare at each other, then start talking!! He shook his head. Ninja's. He never would understand them.

So what are we going to do?" Itachi murmured back. Sasuke raised his eyes a bit to give him a look.

"Do?" he asked stupidly. Usually when he messed up, Naruto would yell at him, beat the bad guys to a bloody pulp, return home and do the same to Sasuke, then give him an oddly helpful speech that usually ended up tying in that he was going to become Hokage. But, Sasuke had a sinking feeling that this wouldn't be one of those times. He drowned the rest of his drink in one swallow.

"Yes do, we have to fix this."

"We?" Sasuke asked, his brother always had a way of making him feel like he didn't know things that he should, and it still irritated him. Although, he and Itachi had never been a 'we' it had always been Nii-san, and Outoto-chan, and then it became more of a I-Will-KILL-You kind of deal on Sasuke's part. But now they needed to work together.

"Why?" he said stupidly.

Itachi sighed. "You can't find happiness at the bottom of a bottle." he quoted.

Sasuke gave him what looked like it was trying to be a glare. "Yes you can." he held up the bottle. "See, look." he pointed vaguely.

Itachi stared at it for a moment. "I think you're right." he grabbed the bottle out of Sasuke's hands and finished off the last few sips. "But," he said when he was finished. "You can't find Naruto."

- - - To Be Continued - - -

Yay!! I've been waiting to use that line since the beginning!! And, I'm finally finished!!

Sorta, I'm so sorry that this is unbeta'd but my e-mail is not letting me send outgoing mails, so I don't know what to do. Gomen!! (to both my beta and my readers) but as soon as my comp stops rebelling, I shall get it beta'd and reposted!!

Now go, review!! Oh, and don't worry, Lorelle is a very temporary character, she leaves next chapter, I promise. She was just needed. Plus, she's cool. But anyway, it's in and out with her, I swear!!

Now reviews or I will play FFVIII instead of writing!! Bwahahahaha!! .


	9. The Sound Of Revelations

Lorelle was walking along a fallen log, her arms stretched out on either side of her, Naruto walking on the ground to her left. "I was born blind, and I was always considered helpless, useless, a burden. I always thought of myself like that too, until I turned five or so. I stared to see colours, pinks and reds and whites and blues. It Didn't take me long to figure out that where ever I saw colours, there was a person there. I had no idea what it meant for months, but then I heard my father talking about chakra control and how chakra flowed through every living thing.

"I figured that had to be it, since at that point I was starting to see greens and browns in plants or trees. So I learned more about it. I followed the brightest lights, and listened to all that I could. I asked questions, I followed kids to their lessons, and I learned. At first, I didn't even know what to call the colours, since I had never seen them before. Green was the first that I learned, grass is green." she quoted. "So, I soon realized that other people couldn't see chakra unless they sent it outside their body really strong. So I'd ask them to tell me what colour they were."

Naruto nodded, it made sense. "But, how do you see non living things, like rocks or something?"

She beamed at him. "That was the hardest part. I had been trying to figure out how to do that for a while. I listened in when they were teaching my brother, talking about spreading it through your body or to your feet to walk on water, or something. So I started to wonder, if you could spread it inside your body, could you spread it out? So I experimented. I learned to send it out in a blanket, or net, and cover the ground with it.

"It would light up everything, everything was in one colour, of course, but it would 'land' and I could 'see' where the higher points of the ground were. I waited until I had gotten really good, then I went to talk to my father. I wanted to be a ninja, I wanted to be more than a burden. I was almost twelve then, when I thought I was good enough. I showed him all that I could do, but he didn't like it.

"So we compromised. I learned healing, not fighting, and I learned how to send my chakra into things, or people, I learned how to change memories, alter thoughts, and how to use my chakra net as something solid, or to make it into ropes that I could use as whips, but not well enough to use in battle. I can't fight, and when I'm put in a room that blocks chakra, I'm blind again."

Naruto nodded as he digested this, wishing that he could do something to help. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "Save it. I don't want your pity. I just thought that you should understand."

Naruto grinned at her, "Alright." he said. They walked a bit more in silence.

"I have a question." Lore said suddenly. "Why do you have two chakra's?" Naruto was so surprised that actually sopped walking. Not even Neji had seen that before he had actually used Kyuu's chakra.

"Huh?" he asked smartly.

"You have two. One is yellow, and cheerful, and the other is red and strong, but now both feel muted and they each have a dark tinge to them, which means your upset about something."

Naruto almost stopped dead in shock, but realized a split second beforehand that doing so would only make it seem more obvious. She was good, not even his own men had been able to see anything different. They only figured it out because they had heard what had happened and realized that he must be upset. This girl, who he had only just met less than an hour ago, was already picking up on his emotions?

"Nah, I'm just hungry Nothing like a mission to work up an appetite." he grinned at her, trying not to show his surprise. "But what do you mean? I didn't know that chakra reflected emotions."

She gave him a sceptical look from under her bangs, which he couldn't see, since he was pointedly not looking at her. "One, that didn't answer my two chakra question, and two, yes, emotions, if they are strong enough, are shown by everything in our body. Loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and restlessness and clear symptoms, bit I see more than that. Your brain controls every part of your body, your emotions especially, so when your emotions are down, your brain is effected, and therefore, so is the rest of your body. Yup!"

Naruto gave her a mock-annoyed look "How 'bout, you stop asking questions, and I'll treat you to some ramen when we get back."

"Alright" Lorelle hopped down from the branch, landing neatly beside him. 'he said I couldn't ask questions, he didn't say I couldn't try to find out. . .' she noted, but dropped it for the time being.

She sighed, then spread her chakra in a wider net behind her. There was a funny nagging feeling that told her something was up. There was, in fact, a very faint chakra trail following them, but the aura that it was giving off was far from unfriendly.

Emotions were very powerful things, effecting the appitite, the sleeping patterns, and even the chakra feel, but the last was faint. So faint that most people never noticed, but she did.

Her blonde companion was excellent at hiding his emotions, she was sure that no one else would even be able to tell he was sad, but his aura faintly resonated with despair. She was impressed that he had such a firm control on his emotions that even his aura was, for the most part, unaffected. She had no doubt that if he did know about her little trick, he would be able to conceal even his aura.

Anyway, she got sidetracked, a very bad habit of hers. The aura behind them was entirely well meaning, at least to her guard. Her felt affection aimed at the blond, and a certain amount of hostility and something that felt vaguely like jealousy aimed at her. She was, however, pleased to realize that the affection aimed at Naruto overrode the anger towards her, at least enough that they would not be attacked.

She felt a grin tugging at her lips. She had a distinct feeling that the man following them, and the sad aura of her rescuer were connected. And he had saved her. . . It wouldn't hurt to help him in return. She waited until she felt the approaching aura come into a place where he would be able to see them.

She 'felt' in front of her with her chakra, quickly locating a tree root, and manuvering herself over to it in such a way that he wouldn't notice. Then, when the tree branch raised itself into her path, she tripped dramatically. As expected, Naruto stopped walking, rushing over to help.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah, I think." she said, feigning pain into her voice. She let Naruto grab her hand and pull her up. When she was fully supporting her own weight, she cried out, leaning on her guard. Her gift was instantly amplified by the skin-to-skin contact and she was almost bowled over by what she felt. Two sets of hidden grief and betrayal.

She had never, ever sensed anything quite like this, it was almost as if he were more than one person, with more than one chakra. It wasn't just that the chakra was as powerful as two peoples, although it certainly was that, but each chakra had a distinct personality. She didn't have to feign the weakness as the pain pressed down on her, choking her. Lore struggled for breath as she pulled up all the shields she had ever had, tightening them around her, realizing dimply that Naruto had caught her.

"You don't look so good." Naruto commented. "It must have been the lack of food. I'm going to carry you the rest of the way, alright?" She nodded, his words not fully registering as she felt the pain ebb, then disappear entirely. She came to herself slightly faster, registering that strong arms were supporting all of her weight.

They were walking along a forrest path, she could tell by the rustle of the leaves and wondered, not for the first time, what trees really looked like. She knew the general shape, sensing the life within it in vein like tendrils, but nothing more. She hated Fall, always hearing how beautiful it was, but to her, all she could 'see' was the life dimming as it faded out, bleeding away and, apparently, turning the leaves red with that blood.

She let her head fall weakly against Naruto's chest, feeling him flinch, barely, in surprise. He was carrying her bridal style, his arms hooked under her knees and behind her back. Lore hated looking weak. Hated, despised, loathed and detested. But her had saved her, and her deserved to be happy. She could sacrifice her dignity for a bit.

She smirked in triumph as she felt the chakra behind them flare angrily and she easily picked out jealousy as one of the contributors. This was followed by a feeling of intense bewilderment, and the presence fell back as they neared Konoha, which stood out as a giant glob of many different chakras.

"You know, I've been thinking about how your father won't let you fight and all." Naruto said. "And I was thinking, he'd probably let you learn how to defend yourself, and I have a friend who can see chakra, and uses that as his fighting style. They might teach you."

She only nodded, building up her mental walls to prepare for the approaching village. When Naruto had slowed a bit, Lore spoke up. "Could you put me down?" She cut off his protests. "I feel a lot better now. I don't like being seen like this."

Clearly he understood this, so he put her down, leading her up the gate. She didn't know why this worked, and she could tell that he wanted to know why her ankle was suddenly better, but he didn't ask, so she didn't offer an explanation. She felt him wave at the guards, could feel their father away chakra blobs shift, and she supposed that they had waved back.

She could feel Naruto's chakra both brighten and darken. She felt the familiar sense that someone always felt at returning to ones home, cheerful, the brightening of chakra she had felt. She could only connect the darkening to a feeling of negative reminiscing. Of memories that one didn't want to remember, but couldn't want to forget. Of happy memories that remained after everything else had gone horribly wrong, and only made the reality seem so much worse.

Was this why _he_ had been the one to get her. To escape his memories? And what did it have to do with the boy she had felt following them? Naruto felt like he had been betrayed, and the chakra behind them felt like guilt and regret. She was sure now that the two were connected, and probably involved in more than a simple friend-hurt-friend relationship, most especially because Naruto was subconsciously radiating the same feeling that she had felt when he best friend had found his girlfriend cheating on him. Lorelle just hoped that things worked out for Naruto, he seemed as though he sincerely deserved it.

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Sasuke was brooding. Not that he would call it such. It was deep meditation with a pensive frown, and that was that. He couldn't figure out what it was that made him want to go up to the bitch that Naruto, _his_ Naruto, had been with, then punch her, with all his chakra enhanced strength.

Sasuke paused. His? What made Naruto his, exactly? He knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that Naruto would be furious at any attempt at ownership that was made, but what made him want to make said claims in the first place?

'So that no one else can touch him.' a small, furious voice whispered, and Sasuke had it admit that it made a very good point. He didn't want anyone else to touch Naruto, nobody but him. He knew, somewhere, that the thought should bother him, but it didn't. It felt right somehow. But even this resolution did not solve much. Why? Why did he want to be the only one to touch Naruto?

'Because he's mine' the voice informed him again. Sasuke stifled a snort. Great. So far he had established that Naruto was his because only Sasuke could touch him, and that only Sasuke could touch him because Naruto was his. Helpful.

What was it about Naruto that drove him to such a degree? He had never cared about anyone else like that. Hell, he barely cared about anyone else at all. But Naruto, Naruto was different.

Naruto was sunshine at dawn, promising more light to come, casting at the shadows from everyone, than slowly making them disappear. He was the sky that held everything together, no matter the storms that passed between. He was liquid fire contained in steel. Warm to the touch but so strong. He was the crystal bottle and contents of bottled memory. The calm before a storm and the healing breeze after. He was. . . Everything.

The last revelation stopped him cold. Naruto was everything. Everything that Sasuke'd had, and everything he might never have again. He'd betrayed Naruto so many times, gained his trust, then betrayed him again. He'd hurt him so many times, each time worse, because he should have learned. Naruto was one to forgive easily, and to let future actions speak for themselves, but all Sasuke's had said that he would do anything for power. And he had only himself to blame.

Sasuke let his hands fall into his hands at the sheer hopelessness of the situation. He knew that they would soon be ordered to attack Konoha, and even with the false information he had reported, he knew that Naruto would fight. But Sasuke wouldn't let him get hurt.

No matter the cost, he would make sure that Naruto kept smiling. Sasuke raised his head, sharingan spinning. His hands clenched into fists, so tight that the nails bit harshly into his palm. He would protect Naruto at any cost. For that, he thought as the a few drops of blood splashed on the floor, was his ninja way.

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"Hokage Tsunade-sama." Lorelle greeted formally, bowing. Her long hair fell forward with her, and Naruto noted with interest that she had bowed only slightly deeper than one would bow to equals.

"Lady Lorelle." Tsunade responded in turn, also bowing. She gestured to the chair that sat across from her desk. Lore did so, Naruto standing slightly behind her to the left, as was appropriate for guards, especially those for royalty. "Your father has requested that we provide you with an escort back to your village." Lorelle nodded, clearly unsurprised.

"Well, Naruto is strictly used for rescue missions, or assassinations, and other S class missions. But he's recommended someone that he believes is a good escort, both in talent and Naruto also says that you two would get along well." she winked at him, not mentioning that Naruto had a tendency to play matchmaker. Tsunade gestured for the man standing slightly behind her, who stepped forward.

"This is Hyuuga Keigan. He'll be serving as your guard and escort back to your father." Tsunade introduced formally. "Keigan, this is Lady Lorelle of the Village Hidden in the Shadows."

"Delighted." he said smoothly, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. Lorelle, to Tsunade's shock, blushed lightly and responded softly "Lore. Call me Lore." Tsunade gaped openly, not that it mattered because Lorelle obviously couldn't see it, and Keigan was totally oblivious to everything else.

Lorelle was infamous for being very independent, very detached, and very stubborn. Everyone knew that her father had tried, and failed, to set her up with may 'appropriate' men, not to mention arrange marriages. The results were most definitely not pretty. Naruto was smirking slightly. Well, who was Tsunade to complain if messing with other peoples love lives made his seem less broken.

"Well." She said, hoping that her voice didn't betray her small smile. "I'm sure that your father is very worried about you." she ignored Lorelle's small snort. "So you two should get going." they both nodded, and Lorelle stood up. Keigan didn't try and help her, which Naruto approved of. He had learned that she hated anyone perceiving her as weak, and she probably would have kicked him had he tried to help her.

"Bye." he said casually as the two were about to leave the room. Lorelle waved a hand casually, and smiled in his general direction. "Good luck." she had commented softly, than left before he could respond to her enigmatic remark.

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The young apprentice was almost trembling in terror. The Uchiha was notorious for being very temperamental, and prone to coming very near to killing people when they bothered him. Especially since he had returned from his Konoha mission.

He personally, along with one half of the village, thought that it was because the Uchiha had failed, but his friend hero-worshiped the man, god knew why, and was convinced, along with the other half of Sound, that the Uchiha had succeeded with flying colours.

Regardless of which, ever since that, the Uchiha had been especially touchy since then, and far more prone to brooding, and staring moodily off into space during other important things. But, when they had drawn straws, he had been the one to lose, so it was he who delivered the message.

"Uchiha-sama." he bowed, his quivering increasing as the Uchiha turned his ever intense glare onto him, and leaving him with the feeling that he would shortly burst into flames. "Orochimaru says that we attack at dawn."

- - To Be Continued - - -

I know, I know, you all hate me. Gomen, I hate to take so long to update, but it's hard. My school hates me. More specifically, my third quarter hates me. My grades have been slipping since Christmas, so I've been working hard to bring them back up!! Plus, it's March, and everyone in the world has a birthday in or right near March, so I've been dealing with that. Gomen!! But the next chapters will come faster. I promise!!

I'm also really sorry about the cliff hanger, but anywhere else would be another week in coming to a stopping point, and would probably be somewhere worse. So, anyway, sorry again. And we'll find out what exactly Itachi and Sasuke planned, so look forward to that.

Oh, and Things To Remember will be updated soon!! I'm working on it now!!


	10. The Sound Of Battle

The small, barely noticeable swish of fabric and clinks of metal hardly even stirred the early morning air as Sasuke gathered his weapons. He donned them, one by one, with a strange, detached sort of feeling. It felt surreal, being back at Sound again. It felt as thought the past few days had been happening to someone else, and he had been only a bystander.

Perhaps it was the almost startling lack of emotions, lack of anything really. The bright colours, sounds, smells, _life_ that he had felt when in Konoha were gone, leaving the skies grey, the sounds harsh, and smells and tastes dulled past all reasoning.

_But_ he thought with a bitter smile, _I'm going back there soon_. He fastened his sword around his waist. It was not a weapon that he normally used, but he would need it in the battle to come, where he would be fighting both side, he would need all the help he could get.

He and Itachi had worked out a plan. Hardly up to Shikarmaru's standards of course, they had, after all, been slightly drunk at the time. Itachi had been Anbu captain at 14, and Sasuke had been second in command at Sound since he was 13. The idea was for Itachi to try and blend in as an ordinary leaf-nin, nothing distinctive that could set him apart from his peers. The slight drawback to this plan was the eyes.

Once one had gained tee maryeko sharingan, there was no going back. There were also almost impossible to disguise behind a genjutsu for the sheer power that they contained immediately bleached them into either a gold or silver colour. The compromise for this was for Itachi to wear a pair on sunglasses, which, coupled with his natural fondness for high collars, made him look as though he were from the Aburame clan.

There was, however, a more pronounced flaw in the plan. Uchiha's, like all the great ninja families, had their own, distinct, fighting style. This was, after all, how Sasuke had recognised his brother in the first place. The upside was that very few people could actually distinguish the fighting styles, much less recognise them. Especially one as obscure as the Uchiha clans.

The ideal plan was to stay clear of those few people, though both of them knew that would be the first part of the plan to fall apart. Sasuke knew that he would never allow anything to happen to Naruto, and had no doubt that Itachi felt the same about Kyuubi.

Sasuke felt himself wishing, in a childish way that belied the situation, that Itachi could be there with him, that he could be with his nii-san again. It was a foolish hope, far to juvenile for someone preparing themselves for a war. A war in which one would be double-crossing one side to the side that he had already betrayed. repeatedly, depending on how you looked at. Personally, Sasuke choose not to look at it at all or think about it at all.

To do so would be to picture the shocked, agonized face as he punctured Naruto's stomach with his chidori, or the betrayed, regretful and horribly resigned expression as Sasuke left. He knew, without a doubt, that there was little chance of forgiveness. Even if Naruto would, the rest of Rookie 9, Gai's team and Tsunade would probably kill him. And that was without considering what Kyuubi would do to him.

Although, all of this depended on whether he even survived the battle, which was no longer the givin t had once been. Not that he didn't have faith in his own abilities, but because he would be fighting twice the normal amount of people, half of which had a personal vendetta against him. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to give it his all against Konoha nins.

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Naruto was staring grimly at a spot on the floor, attempting to prepare himself for what was to come. So far he had gathered all of his would-be weapons together, but somehow couldn't bring himself to put them on. There had been an anonymous tip off that Sound was preparing itself for war, and the Hokage had found no reason to believe that, even if the note was false, there could be no harm in being prepared anyway, and far to much harm if they were not.

Kyuubi had, for the first time in weeks, remerged , determined, despite Naruto's protests, to help in the on coming battle. And Naruto, though he hated it, knew he was right. Kyuubi was very powerful in his own right, and, though Naruto wanted to protect him, he knew that Kyuu felt exactly the same, and he also knew that if Kyuubi had tried to keep him from protecting his people, he probably would have punched him. Hard. For most of his life, Kyuu had been all he had, and vise versa, and they had to look out for each other, especially what with the . . . current circumstances.

The last few weeks had been painful, even more so then when he had failed to bring him back, because even then there had been the chance, however small, that Sasuke could be brought back, shown the error of his ways, but now, now there was nothing. Sasuke had been back, had seen the power that he could get in Konoha, and that he didn't really need it anyway, because he didn't need to get revenge on Itachi anymore, since they had become friends, or rather, the brothers they always should have been.

But maybe Itachi was part of the problem. He hadn't, after all, proven to be particularly loyal himself, and though he knew that Kyuu was having a much harder time of it than he was, he still had trouble getting his mind around what had happened. He had been living with Akki for a little over two years, and had seen the way that he had acted around Kyuubi, had seen the devotion that matched the Kitsune's shining in his normally stoic eyes, and couldn't see how such things had been faked.

Surely, even once, he would have slipped, said or done something that revealed his true motives. He had, after all, been living with them for over a year, and it hadn't exactly been a big house. Itachi and Kyuubi had spent every spare moment with each other, and that level of closeness couldn't be feigned. In all honesty, he wasn't surprised that Kyuu hadn't thought about this. He wouldn't doubt if Kyuu was too distraught to really think about anything at the moment.

But then, the next question to arise would be why the hell would Itachi lie about something like that? Surely he knew how much it would hurt Kyuubi, and to do it in such a critical time, with Sasukes most recent betrayal, and the war fast approaching. Unless. . . Unless that was why. Unless he feared that his ties to Kyu would put the deamon in danger, which, in hindsight, it probably would. But Naruto also knew that Kyuubi really wouldn't give a damn. But Itachi, of course, would come to the completely irrational conclusion that he would need to sever ties. And to do that, he would do, exactly what he had done. Hurt Kyuubi so badly that he wouldn't look for alternate reasons. He had, however, forgotten Naruto.

Naruto was, to say the least, extremely ticked off. Itachi was an Anbu squad captain, and they would need him in the battle ahead. Not least because the other Anbu squad captain, Kyuubi, wouldn't be entirely up to his normal state. Naruto himself would be less of a problem, having long since mastered the art of both disguising his feelings and making them into weapons.

And he would do so now, he had to, there was no other choice. He would channel all his rage, pain betrayal and despair into his fighting. Not control him, but merely boost his strength. He would need that now more than ever. As if agreeing with him, a bell began to ring, deep and tolling. Sound was near.

The war had begun.

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Itachi slashed unthinkingly at the enemy to his right, his body moving without conscious thought. He had slipped into the battle relatively unnoticed, save for his blade and his killing speed. He felt more relieved than ever at the over-protectiveness to two leading kunoichi, Tsunade and Sakura, had for Naruto and his family, of sorts. Due to this, the Konoha nins had not learned of Itachi's misleading betrayal, and, as such, the men that had been in his squad followed him unconditionally. He was making one of his prime aims, other than incapacitating as many people as possible, to avoid Naruto and Kyuubi, and Sasuke if he could help it. They were both known fighters for opposite sides, after all, not to mention the whole sworn-to-kill-you thing that Orochimaru had no doubt been banking on to remove Itachi from that battle.

He strongly suspected that Naruto may have figured out his motives. The boy had been and would always be completely hopeless when trying to interpret his own emotions, but other peoples came naturally to him. Itachi had once seen this as yet another sign of the Hokage that Naruto was born to become, but not it was an inconvenience that he could not afford. While hard and cold when it came to his own betrayal, Itachi was willing to be that, givin an opportunity, Naruto may well confront him on the battlefield. This, to put it lightly, would be bad.

Kyuubi, however, was an entirely different matter. He knew with just as much conviction that Kyuu had _not_ even suspected that there may have been a deeper explanations. He knew this, and was filled with both relief and self-loathing. Relief, because that way his beloved would be out of harms way. Self-loathing because for Kyuu's normally sharp mind not to put the rather large pieces together, he must be complexly distraught, a feeling he had never wanted to cause.

It was for the best, for the best. He told himself, an endless mantra that kept him sane through the battle without either friend nor lover by his side, nor the promise of either waiting for him after. The other reason that he wouldn't let Kyuu see him was that he knew that he would be a distraction, and a reminder of all the pain one could not feel on the battle field if one wished to survive.

He also knew that he would be just as distracted, Paying more attention to his Kitsune's safety than his own. Which, in the heat of a fight, tended to be a disadvantage. He shouldn't even be thinking about this now, he reminded himself harshly as a lucky blow scraped his upper arm, biting through cloth into skin, though not deep enough to do much damage. The one responsible was dead before he could even process what had happened, and with a growl at his own inattention, Itachi pulled himself back into the battle.

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Naruto found himself wishing in a detached and semi-irrational way givin the present circumstances, that his mask somehow blocked out smell. He could never see it being needed on the battle field, and the smell of blood and burned flesh was choking him.

His fighting style was unique, being the one to think of it and one of the few with the chakra for it not to be a disadvantage. His weapon, be they sai, shirukin, or kunai, were instantly heated the moment they touched his gloved hand, his chakra raising them to be able to burn on contact.

The ideas behind this were simple. First and foremost was blood. This way, there wasn't any. There was nothing he hated more than blood. Not like Tsunade had, but the fact that it was so messy. It coated his skin ad clothes and caked there, making his clothing stiff which he hated. It slowed him down, if only by a fraction of a second, which could make the difference between life and death.

For another, it was slippery, coating the ground and the bodies with it so you had be careful where you stepped for fear of your feet sliding out from under you. Naruto had outright refused to use the spikes a few of his comrades wore on the soles of their shoes. He could see the benefits, but on was just as likely to spike other people as ground, and that very idea of that made him more sick than just stepping on them.

Another benefit to his heated weaponry was the fact that it tended to startle his opponent They were used to, as ninjas, being able to block out the sharp pain on a stab, but the duller pain of a burn was more difficult to push aside, until that pain had also been ingrained in their memory.

The final reason was that Naruto couldn't stand the thought of someone bleeding to death. It was a slow, horrible way to die and Naruto felt that if you could survive being killed outright, there was no need to die that way. It was sick, and undignified, and cruel.

It was this unique ability that had grained Naruto both his name and reputation. Konoha's fire, a man who either killed you outright or not at all. Brutally fair in face of all emotional ties. Or at least that was how it had been. It was a question that had been plaguing him for awhile. Had he failed somehow in the past few weeks. Certainly the walls that he had created in the last two and a half years had fallen, but was it effecting his fighting ability. He wasn't sure.

Silently thanking every deity he could think of that Sasuke could hide his chakra so well, he was glad of his ability to fight without thought, but he thought that even his training would not be able to . He had long since learned to detach his mind, not to think about what he was doing, paying only enough attention to separate the enemy from everyone else.

He felt a jolt as he felt a dark and familiar chakra flair to his left, and, at the same time, the battle was alit with screams or terror. A giant snake reared from the centre of the screams, and suddenly struck. A large percentage of the screams were abruptly cut short. Naruto fought against the bile that rose in his throat.

His body moving on its own, he cut down another person who was aiming for his throat, his eyes still fixed upon the monstrous snake. His hands moved without thought, and then the ground was suddenly much further away, Gamabunta having risen beneath his feet.

"Can't you fight your own battle?" the frog growled, but moved closer anyway. Naruto only grinned, and his hands moved again, touching his clasped index hands with the index fingers outstretched to the toads head, and suddenly, as in a battle so long ago, Gamabunta was Kyuubi, in full deamon form.

Further away, Naruto could sense the real Kyuubi transform into the same shape, clearly hoping to confuse the snake between the two of them.

"So, little kitsune, finally gone claws, have you?" Orochimaru taunted, his pale face open wide in a smirk. Naruto could see the faint lines of strain, and the stiff way that he moved that told him that the bodies capacity was reaching its limit, and wondered why Orochimaru had not waited until he had Sasuke's body to attack. He voiced this question, his voice ringing loud even over the clang of battle far below.

"I should think that obvious. Sasuke asked to do so. He said that he wanted to watch Konoha fall in his own mind, and, as his final request, who was I to deny him so simple a thing."

Naruto snarled, his fists clenching and unclenching by his sides. Using this as an opening, Orochimaru struck, but Gamabunta moved on his own, and the fangs only grazed his fifth tail. The toad turned fox spun to face his opponent. In any other situation, the sight of a giant snake with a mouth full of orange hairs would have been almost comical, but Naruto could not bring himself to find any humour in the situation.

Orochimaru let out an angry hiss that was echoed by the snake, both preparing themselves for the nex attack.

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Sasuke could feel both Naruto's and Orochimaru's chakras flaring up, in the distance, and he only barely dodged a side swipe from a Konoha nin. Worried for Naruto and furious at himself, he pulled back, fading, to all appearances, into nothing. In actuality, he was moving himself closer to the fight. Dodging oncoming blades from more leaf ninjas, he angled one of his kunai so that it hit a tree, then ricocheted off to his a sound nin directly n the chest, an occurrence that appeared to be a mere coincidence in his presence. He struck down four more, on his way over, wounding seven more, and saving a leaf nin who appeared no older then 12.

His eyes were fixed solely on the battle that he could now see, and he found himself beginning to sweat as the type of chakra that Orochimaru was weilding began to penetrate his thoughts. It was a jutsu of the sannin's own invention, and no jutsu had stood a chance against it. And Naruto was right in the line of fire.

He moved without thought, in a way that was eerily reminiscent of three years ago, straight into the path of the oncoming jutsu. He was pushing all of his own power into making him self faster, into making sure he made it on time, into being able to protect Naruto.

He got their a second too soon, and he had time to register Narutos stunned expression before his vision gave way, the last sound he heard the hiss of fire and a familiar voice screaming his name in despiration.

- - - To Be Continued - - -

Heh, I'm evil. Totally cruel. Well, the story is moving to an end, this won't drag on forever likfe Neko No Jutsu did. . Hopefully, there shouldn't be more than five more chapters left, which will probably be coming out more quickly.

Hey guys!! Sorry this took so long!! Trip after trip after trip has pretty much been the entirety of my vacation. That, and Harry Potter, which pretty much beats all, even though I finished it so quickly. I hate reading so fast, nothing left to enjoy. T.T Well, seeing as I hate spoilers, none will be givin here, but feel free to PM or review about it, I always love a Harry Potter talk. Well, anyway, here's your chapter, enjoy! Well, not really, it a war/battle scene ending in a cliffie, but still! My gift to you! Happy Summer!!


	11. The Sound of Finality

The sounds of the battle raging around him stilled in an instant, his entire world, focused on the prone body lying in front of him, again. For a moment his mind flashed back to when he was 12, still laboring under the delusion that what he felt for the brunette could really be hate and the instant when his world had been shattered by those needles. There was a wet cough and he was brought back to reality with a jolt. There were flecks of blood on Sasuke's chin, and a kunai was sticking straight up out of his chest. Naruto spared a glance to Orochimaru, who was looking as surprised as he felt.

"Move, you idiot." Sasuke whispered softly, giving another wet cough and sending flecks of blood onto Naruto's cheek. He didn't flinch. That brought Naruto out of his shock. In one swift movement, he stood, bending over to pick Sasuke up gently, and shot off, being very careful to keep his gait smooth so as not to jostle is passenger. Tsunade was nowhere in sight, and there simply wasn't anymore time if he wanted Sasuke to live. There was a cave about a mile from the edge of the battlefield, as yet undiscovered by all but Naruto, hidden as it was by an anchored genjutsu. The opening was small, Naruto could barely get through with Sasuke, but he managed, laying the body carefully on the floor.

He was no medic nin, but he knew how to heal, and more importantly, he knew how to use his chakra, He checked Sasuke's pulse, his eyes, and his breathing. It wasn't good. If he didn't act soon, Sasuke wouldn't make it through the hour. He used a spark of chakra to send a very basic healing as he removed the kunai. Sasuke gave a muffled groan and Naruto winced. He laid his hands on the barest edges of the wound. It was a clean cut, that was good, but it was deep, and if he didn't do something soon, Sasuke would die. Naruto had, of course, learned basic healing jutsus. His best friend was apprenticed to the greatest medic nin of al time, and that nin herself was his adopted older sister of sorts. But nothing he had learned would heal something this deep.

He did, however, know something that he could do. For something like this, he could simply pour a large amount of chakra into a basic healing charm. This was one of those jutsus that was more about intent that the handsigns. He let his mind calm, tapping into the well of chakra at his very center. The battle had drained his surface chakra, the normal amount that people had to call upon easily. It required meditation to reach your center, and using to much of that could kill you.

At that moment, he really couldn't care less. It didn't matter that Sasuke had left, thay he had betrayed them, that he may be the whole reason behind this entire war. All that mattered was that he was here, that he had saved him, and that he was dying. Naruto took a deep breath, letting his hands rest gently on the wound. He closed his eyes, letting his kind darken, reaching into his chakra core, a bright fiery blue that pulsed with white-hot power. He grasped a single strand about the width of his index finger with his 'hands'. It flowed like water, only thicker, clinging together, and he tugged the strand loose. The rest followed, then flowed back into itself, retaking its former shape.

He guided it up and out through his physical arms and into Sasuke. This was not a jutsu, this was pure intent, made real by his power. In his mind he could picture the wound healing, cleaning, sealing closed, not even a scar to mar the skin. He guided more chakra into the weaving and opened his eyes. The wound was still there, cleaned but still there, barely beginning to scab. It would tear easily, and Sasuke was still unconscious. He closed his eyes and took even more this time, feeling the skin beneath his hands warm up, could feel new skin forming, breath beginning to resume normal patterns.

He reached for more and felt another hand on his physical arm. His eyes opened, and met with onyx eyes. "What" the voice was hoarse and raspy, but no longer a wet and bloody cough. "are you doing?" Naruto, still holding his eyes, smiled softly.

"You'll be okay." He said, closing his eyes again. Sasuke, in a moment, realized what he was about to do, and his hand on Naruto wrist tightened. "No!" Naruto ignored him and poured nearly all his chakra into the wound. His smile remained even as he slipped into unconsciousness. He collapsed, his hands sliding against the pale skin as he fell.

"You idiot!!" Sasuke cursed, catching the blondes head before it hit the ground and lowering it carefully. He felt for a pulse. It was there, but faint and a bit ragged. He felt for his own chakra and found it completely restored. He scowled. That utter moron! He had used up almost all of his chakra to save Sasuke. Why? Sasuke could feel his hands shaking faintly. Naruto had almost died. He still could. If he got injured at all, he wouldn't have enough energy to heal himself. This was all his fault! It should be him that was lying there on the border to death, would have been him if not for Naruto. He had betrayed the blonde, had turned against him when he was needed the most.

A weak, trembling hand touched his wrist gently, and his eyes flew open, not realizing that he had closed them as if hoping to ward of the guilt. "Not your fault." A soft whisper, almost a breath, escaped from the parted lips. "Love you. I'm sorry." The hand slid to the ground as the blue eyes closed once more.

Sasuke choked back a laugh that was almost a sob. "Sorry?" he repeated "What for?" he expected no answer. "Love you too" he murmured, bending to place a kiss on the blonde strands of hair. "I'll fix this." He placed a tender kiss on Naruto's lips. His own tingled as he stood, his hands tightening into fists. His eyes burned with determination, slowly bleeding into red, the commas spinning faster than they ever had in the past and, unknown to him, a third comma appeared.

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There were almost 40 nins around him alone. Where the hell had Sound gotten all these people? Or was it just him that had attracted so many. He hoped so. Hoped that others were not having to deal with so many, because he could think of very few outside himself who could handle it. He felt rising chakra behind him, a jutsu. He threw a kunai in that direction without even bothering to look and heard a cry of pain as the chakra flow ended.

His eyes narrowed, picking out the way they were now moving. It was almost a formation. They were working together now, Damn. He hated it when the enemy got smart. He sent a hooded nin flying back with a spinning kick, and another with a shrunken. He only barely dodged the returning kunai.

Then, suddenly, there was someone fighting beside him, taking out the nin who had thrown the kunai. Kyuubi stopped dead, a poor move in the middle of battle. A Sound ninja tried to rush him, then stopped dead, a kunai buried in his heart. That snapped him out of it, and he turned fluidly to send a blaze of fire at a nin facing his defender. Scarlet eyes met gold for a split second, each moving automatically to the battle around them.

The gaze broke and the stood, back to back. The odds were two to almost 60 now

that Itachis enemies had joined Kyuubi's One almost had to feel sorry for them. Almost.

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The way before him was startlingly clear. Whether it was because both sides believed him on their side, or because he was simply to terrifying to approach, or even if he dealt with thm too fast to even notice, it didn't matter. His goal was obvious. A giant snake was difficult to miss, even in a battle. The giant toad and slug it was facing only served to make it more evident.

His stride was fast, but steady, his eyes fixed on his target. He didn't run, didn't engage, just stared, murderous intent rolling off of him in waves. He came to a halt a few feet away from the three person war being waged almost 20 feet above his head, masking his chakra as he did so. He gathered all his chakra in his feet and pushed, leaping up and landing without a sound behind Tsunade. Not missing a beat, he drew a kunai, grabbed her arms, and pressed it to her neck.

She went still, Jiraiya, alerted by the twisted delight now covering Orochimaru's face, looked at them, and made a jerky move in their direction. Sasuke pressed the kunai closer.

"Come here, Great Toad Sannin." His voice was taunting. "We have things to discuss. But one wrong move." He applied still more pressure. "And I'll slit her throat." Jiraiya moved closer, his movement jilted, his face terrified. As soon as he was within distance, Sasuke began to speak, his voice now soft and urgent, making sure Orochimaru was unable to hear them.

"Relax. I won't hurt you. Naruto is in a cave, on the southeast corner of the battle field, byt the western gate. The entrance is hidden under a genjutsu, but I'm sure you can find it. Will you help him?"

"What did you do to him?" Tsuande hissed, and he could feel the vibrations in her throat through the blade. "Don't lie. I can feel his chakra all over you."

Sasuke winced "That idiot used all his chakra to heal me." He murmured, and even in the tense situation, the guilt and affection in his voice was clear. Jiraiya stared at him, a deep, penetrating stare that made him want to squirm, even at his age.

"How did you get hurt?" his voice was monotone, giving nothing away.

Sasuke met his eyes squarely "Does it matter? The longer that we stand here, the more danger he's in, and I want you to help him." he hesitated, "Please." Jiraiya nodded, his eyes still locked on Sasuke's.

"I always knew of two Sasukes. One Naruto talked of often. A Sasuke who was his loyal comrade, best friend, and most precious person. The other I heard of from others. A killer, a traitor, or a villain. I think now I know who was right."

Sasuke gave a nod of his own, and pushed Tsunade away from him. "Now go!" he called, loud enough that the third sannin watching them could hear. Tsunade hesitated.

"What about Orochimaru?"

Sasuke grinned wolfishly. "He's mine." Tsunade gave him a hard stare, nodded ever so slightly, and dashed off.

Sasuke moved slowly toward his mentor of the last three years. He expected to feel doubt or any sort of hesitancy at turning away from the life he had lived for the last three years. Instead he felt determination, strong, too strong, affection for Naruto, and finally, disgust at Orochimaru's apparent delight at the destruction he had caused.

He faced Orochimaru coldly, his eyes calculating. The battle sounds around him seem to fade and his skin was almost buzzing with chakra, both his own and Naruto's.

Orochimaru seemed weary now, sensing the change in Sasuke. He didn't like it. "Sasuke-kun, how are you?" he asked coolly. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and the sannin suddenly realized that his protégés eyes were bright red, their commas spinning wildly. He let no sign of his sudden unease, instead striding forward, his smile reminiscent of a honey fly trap.

He halted beside Sasuke, standing so that he faced the battle. "Isn't it glorious?" he asked proudly, waving a hand vaguely. He could feel those eerie scarlet eyes follow the path of his hand, taking in the destruction.

"Glorious?" Sasuke repeated, his voice almost a whisper. Orochimaru turned back to face him, his smile patronizing. When he spoke, his voice was the same.

"Glorious, Sasuke. All those people, fighting over power and strength, and all at my command. I started this war, and I shall rule when I end it. You helped me, of course, and so shall be regarded accordingly." he added hastily, clearly thinking that Sasuke was angry at his underplaying the Uchiha's role. "All these people will be mine. I will crush Konoha, it's people and it's spirit, and they will bow to me as the greatest. Glorious."

Sasuke stared at him, fighting his sudden nausea. So that was the reason for this? A desire for power and one sick mans twisted joy? All this death, killings, women, children and families. All for one man. All for power. Had he once been like that? Willing to kill anyone for his own selfish gain? Worse, perhaps, because he had known the people he stepped over, the people that he had wanted to kill.

Never again. Now he would protect them, and pity anyone who got in his way. He glanced to the side and saw Orochimaru still watching the battle with a fierce glee on his face. Sasuke could feel hatred beginning to boil in his veins, furious, and stronger than any he had ever felt before.

He wanted Orochimaru to pay. To suffer for what he had done, what he had started. The sannin sensed his gaze and turned to face him.

Their eyes met and Sasuke felt as though as he could no longer hold it in. His anger and will were molding with his chakra, creating a red hot lava that seethed within him. He wanted Orochimaru to suffer. To feel the wounds that this war had caused. That desire flowed through him with white hot intensity, flaming into his chakra and rose within him, pushed through channels he didn't know he had.

His eyes felt hot, burning into Orochimaru, who had not yet broke the connection. Then suddenly, it snapped as suddenly threw his head back and gave a blood curdling scream. As he did, Sasuke could feel all the pent up energy within him being suddenly released, and his eyes burned worse than ever.

He stood now, frozen, staring at Orochimaru, who had fallen to his knees, unaware that the rest of the fighters had gone equally still, each eye fixed on the same place. The scream stretched on and on. He lifted one hand that shook to his eyes, staring at a moment, and then touching the corner of his eye lightly, before finally pressing it over his eyelids.

Had he done that? But that was impossible. He couldn't have done it., not without the mangekyo sharingan, which he couldn't have. He hadn't killed anyone. Well, no one he cared about anyway. Unless. He paled. Unless Naruto had died, saving him. He shook that thought loose. That wouldn't give him sharingan, and he couldn't worry about Naruto now. This was no longer just his battle. He fought for Naruto now, for him and the village he loved. Sasuke had to end it.

A tug on his robes pulled him out of his thoughts. Orochimaru had fallen to his knees and was whimpering feebly, seemingly unaware that he had even grabbed anything. Was he truly reliving the pain of his victims? It seemed so. Sasuke expected to feel satisfaction, pleased at his revenge, but he didn't.

Instead he felt disgusted, repulsed. There was no justice in this, no purpose in causing others pain. This war could not be ended with that, and that was his sole purpose now. He watched Orochimaru give another, half muffled scream even as he drew his kunai, sliding it, without hesitation, across Orochimaru's

throat.

The scream cut off abruptly, and in its wake, the battle seemed unnaturally quite. He was suddenly aware of the weight of every eye upon him, and stiffened, his movements slightly jerky as he dropped the kunai to the ground. He would have thought that he would want to keep the relic of such a great victory, but he felt no such wish. He only wanted to see if Naruto was still alright, and then rest for awhile.

A low murmuring started around him, low at first, growing in volume to a roar. They were spreading the news of his victory, of the end of the battle. Sound nin were still, unsure what to do with themselves, but Leaf and Sand were equally so, unsure whether it was truly as it appeared, or if Sasuke would take up a place as their next foe.

He took one step forward, then another. Their eyes followed him as he paced forward, waiting to see what he would do. No one dared approach him, they had, after all, just seen him kill one of the three legendary sannin.

Sasuke knew that he couldn't go back to the cave, not with so many observers, so the next thing to do would be to find the Hokage. She could put a stop to the rest of the battle going on, and she, surely, would know what to do.

His eyes searched the crowd, and, with a start of recognition, met one pair in particular. It was Haru, a boy that he knew was in Naruto's squad. And, as he stared at him, and the ninja stared back, a strange combination of betrayal, anger, gratitude and confusion shining in them, he realized that he had just burned his last bridge.

He had betrayed Konoha, twice, and going further, betrayed their very much loved Anbu captain, as well as Orochimaru and Sound would have taken him back. But now, now surely neither would. The accusation in Haru's eyes attested to that. And, just as suddenly, he realized that he didn't care. He would do it again, the situation came to that. Well, not the betrayal part, the killing Orochimaru last bridge part.

This knowledge made him lift his head up higher, and meet Haru's gaze more squarely. Yes, he responded between them. Yes, I hurt him, and no, I don't think I can make up for that, but I'm sure as hell going to try. Surprise registered on the Anbu's face as he seemed to understand, and he nodded, moving through the crowd to stand beside Sasuke.

It was this, the first of anyone's movements that broke the stillness. The quiet, which had consisted of dull murmurings, burst out, and the battle began to rage once more around them. Shit. He didn't think he could do this. He wasn't sure if he could fight Sound nins, not most of them anyway, whom he had trained, and who he had liked, and who shouldn't be punished for being born in the wrong place. He also knew without a doubt that he would not be able to hurt any of the Konoha ninjas.

He stood, frozen in his indecision, as the battle raged around him, Haru doing his best to protect them both from the rain of shrunken and kunai. One managed o get past him, and Sasuke watched it with a strange detachment, knowing it would hit him and not really caring. Was this shock? He wondered absently.

A loud clink echoed through his ear, the kunai that had been about to hit him was knocked out of the way by a shrunken. He looked up, when had he looked down? And saw something that he had certainly not expected to see.

Naruto was standing there, arm looped loosely around Sasuke's waist, supporting him, his chakra flowing around him in waves, and his authority clear in his posture and his voice as he spoke. "STOP!" he yelled, and his voice carried across the battlefield, echoing into every corner as the fighting once again drew silent. "What the hell is this? Can't any of you see that this fight is over? Your leader is dead, and unless you intend to die for his so called cause, I expect you to put your weapons down right now." He rounded on his own ninjas.

"And you. Attacking the person who saved you, fighting people with know leader who you clearly out number. This fight is over, there's no more reason for it save killing, and anyone who wishes to fight for that can deal with me." The venom in his voice was clear, and no one moved a muscle. "Now gather the injured, and bring them into Konoha. All of them."

There was instant protest and the chakra around Naruto intensified. Everyone fell silent again at once "I mean everyone. We have enough people that are well to protect us, and no one deserves to die when their only crime is a poor leader and some misguided loyalties. Everyone who was in Sound for a different reason is gone, fled or killed, and there is no reason why innocents should die." He glared out at them "Well, what are you waiting for? GO!"

There was a sudden flurry of movement around them as everyone rushed to obey him at once. He turned to Sasuke, his eyes and chakra softening. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke met his blindingly blue eyes and could only nod. They swept over him, taking in his pale face, shaking hands, and blood stained clothes. "Come on, we need to get you to the healers. I don't know how you did it, but you even managed to exhaust the chakra I gave you."

That reminded him and he clutched at Naruto's arm. "I did the mangekyou sharingan!" his voice was hoarse, and Naruto whipped his head around to stare at him in shock.

"Oh." He cleared his throat, trying to regain his footing "Good for you."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, I couldn't have. I didn't kill anyone. Did I?" It was a plea more than a question, did he kill anyone important, anyone he cared about, without realizing it?

Naruto shook his head slowly. "No, I don't think so. Itachi explained it to me once, but I didn't get it, so you'll have to ask him. Its something about wanting one thing so much you'll give up anything for it. Be it power for a friends life, or a friends life for your own."

"Oh. Right." He didn't get it. Naruto chuckled softly and the sound sent shivers up Sasuke's spine. He's missed that sound.

"You're tired. Sleep now, and I'll wake you if anything important happens."

Sasuke wanted to protest. To tell Naruto why he had betrayed him, why he had returned, that he loved him too, anything. But Naruto had come to a stop and sat, pulling Sasuke with him. He was just so tired, and it was warm and soft, and smelled so good. . .

Naruto began to hum a melody that he almost recognized, but not quite, and the blue eyes followed him as he slipped into sleep.

- - - To be continued - - -

So, what do you think? Sorry about the delay, I've just gotten into a new fandom, and its been eating my life. Scrubs anyone? Next chapter should be the last one, so look forward to that and review a lot!! It nmay also take a bit, since I am participating in the National Novel Writing Month, in November and will be focusing on that but I will be trying to this too.

And for those of you following Things To Remember, I've been working on that and should have it up by Christmas. It should move faster from there!! Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!!


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